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An understrength and somewhat vulnerable Springbok team will struggle to live with the All Blacks in Albany on Saturday, writes JON CARDINELLI.

Consider the Bok team that has been selected for the Test at the North Harbour Stadium on Saturday. Ask yourself: Is this combination truly capable of beating the All Blacks?

The Boks go into this clash without several key players. They have been forced to field third-choice players at tighthead prop and at No 8 due to injuries.

The Boks are missing senior players such as captain Warren Whiteley, Duane Vermeulen, Frans Malherbe, Coenie Oosthuizen and Jaco Kriel. None of the replacements in the aforementioned positions boast the same level of experience, or indeed the leadership skills to make a difference in a contest of this nature.

Eight years ago, John Smit’s team became the third Bok side to win on New Zealand soil (in the professional era). One cannot see the class of 2017 – with all of its injury problems and tactical shortcomings – becoming the fourth.

The All Blacks have suffered their own losses. They will go into this match without seasoned front-rankers such as Owen Franks and Joe Moody.

Ben Smith, the best fullback on the planet, won’t be available. Israel Dagg, another classy winger-cum-fullback with oodles of big-match experience, has been ruled out because of injury.

That said, coach Steve Hansen has still managed to select a strong and experienced side.

The All Blacks have noted the Boks’ improvements over the past few months. Hansen and company have managed the New Zealand players with the clash against the Boks in mind. Several first-choice players sat out the recent clash against Argentina in New Plymouth so that they would be fresh for this potentially campaign-defining battle against the Boks in Albany.

Expect the All Blacks to dust off the Kapa o Pango haka on Saturday. Expect their revamped forward pack – Hansen has made a statement by dropping last week’s star Vaea Fifita for Liam Squire – to get stuck into the Boks at the collisions and breakdowns in the first half.

Expect the halfback combination of Aaron Smith and Beauden Barrett to make the most of that front-foot ball. The Bok midfield has had its problems on defence recently. It’s out wide and at the back, though, where there is cause for real concern.

The Boks can’t afford to lose the collisions this weekend. They need to find a way to pressure the All Blacks at the lineouts and to deny the hosts possession at the back of that set piece. Ultimately, they need to ensure that Smith and Barrett don’t receive the ball on the front foot and that that they don’t have the opportunity to dictate the flow of the game.

The Boks have been too passive on defence in this tournament. They’ve given away metres in the wider channels, and have often been breached. They are fortunate that the weak tackling of their wingers hasn’t cost them too dearly to date.

It wouldn’t surprise to see Smith launching a box kick for his wingers to chase. It wouldn’t surprise to see Rieko Ioane getting on top of his smaller South African counterpart, Raymond Rhule.

The All Blacks have a weakness at the back. If the Boks do manage to win the forward battle, and if Elton Jantjies does enjoy sufficient time and space to implement the kick-chase strategy, the visitors should look to target the diminutive Damian McKenzie.

Of course, this ploy could backfire if Jantjies does not kick accurately and if his wingers don’t rush up to pressure the man under the high ball. The All Blacks have the means to punish the Boks on the counter-attack.

Allister Coetzee has said that the All Blacks are vulnerable. It’s true that Hansen’s side hasn’t lived up to its own high standards in 2017.

The All Blacks lost one Test and drew another in the three-game series against the British & Irish Lions. They’re yet to lose a game in this year’s Rugby Championship, but they’re also yet to produce a clinical 80-minute performance.

This bodes badly for the Boks. The All Blacks will not want for motivation this Saturday. They will see a fixture against their traditional foes – who are yet to lose a Test in 2017 – as an opportunity to make a statement.

A win would strengthen the All Blacks’ claim for yet another Rugby Championship title. The Boks, in their current guise, would do well to remain competitive. A loss by seven points or less – and a resultant bonus point – could be seen as a sign of progress for a team that lost 41-13 and 57-15 in their Tests against the All Blacks in 2016.

o The All Blacks have won nine of their last 10 games against the Springboks, including each of their last four and a 42-point win when they last met, which stands as the biggest win in the history of the fixture.

o The All Blacks have won their last seven games against the Springboks when hosting them in New Zealand, conceding an average of just 12 points per game in that period.

o Of the five nations to have played multiple games at North Harbour Stadium, New Zealand (six) and South Africa (two) are the only two that remain undefeated at the venue.

o This will be the first Test at North Harbour Stadium since South Africa defeated Samoa 13-5 at the 2011 World Cup, and the first time New Zealand have played a Test there since brushing past Fiji in a 91-0 win in 2005.

o The All Blacks have won the most rucks per game (92) and boast the best ruck-success rate (97%) of any team this competition. They are also the only squad yet to lose a scrum on their own feed.

o South Africa are yet to concede a try in the opening or closing quarter this campaign; each of the other three teams have conceded at least three in each of those periods.

o Elton Jantjies (49) has opened up a 10-point gap at the top of the point-scoring leaderboard, and is yet to miss a conversion attempt (10).

Kane Hames is the bolter in the All Blacks squad after being named to make his first Test start against the Springboks in Albany on Saturday.

The Chiefs loosehead prop, most recently on duty for Tasman in New Zealand’s Mitre 10 Cup, has been used sparingly by the All Blacks since making his Test debut in 2016 and will thus earn just his third cap on Saturday.

Coach Steve Hansen made the move despite admitting that South Africa “scrummages well”, and it is possible that the timing of Hames’ call-up has got something to do with the withdrawal of incumbent Bok tighthead Coenie Oosthuizen with a broken arm suffered during last week’s 23-23 draw against Australia.

Almost as surprising, Hansen opted to drop Vaea Fifita, the star of last week’s 39-22 victory against Argentina in New Plymouth. Instead, Liam Squire returns to the No 6 jersey with Sam Cane packing down at openside, and Brodie Retallick and Sam Whitelock are reunited in the second row.

In the backs, Aaron Smith returns to the 23 for his 65th Test with TJ Perenara on the bench, Ryan Crotty is back at centre, with Anton Lienert-Brown in the reserves, and Rieko Ioane is back on the left wing.

Chief Rugby Reporter

Safely returned: David Malan and Benn Robinson with the jersey that had been thought to be lost. Photo: Thys Lombard

Benn Robinson could finally relax.

The Waratahs and Wallabies prop had been on edge for weeks, carrying around a precious piece of Australian and South African rugby history believed lost for decades.

It had brought him to a hotel lobby in Cape Town, where David Malan was waiting to receive the missing Springboks jersey his father, Abie Malan, had worn to captain South Africa against the Wallabies 51 years earlier.

The jersey had been in the back of a cupboard at the Mosman home of former Wallaby Jim Miller and was being returned to its homeland.

Robinson’s trip across the Indian Ocean with the Waratahs had been a chance to bring the story full circle.

“I got a phone call from an old bloke who didn’t know how to use the phone well and he said ‘mate I have a very special story with this jersey, can you take it to Africa for me’,” Robinson said.

The old bloke being Miller, of Millers Storage fame, who played seven Tests at second row or prop for Australia and turned 75 on Sunday.

He found the jersey while preparing to sell the family home, ‘Rona’, and move permanently to their beef cattle property in the Riverina.

“Jim told me he was really worried about sending it by post, so he asked me to bring it over,” Robinson said.

“So I’ve been holding on to this thing nervously for weeks. I packed it in my luggage and carried it over.”

More than half a century after Malan and Miller stood among their teammates at Newlands Stadium, in the shadow of Table Mountain, on Thursday David Malan finally touched his father’s No.2 jersey.

“I have had my dad’s collection of jerseys for the last 40 years, he gave it to me when I was 12 or so,” Malan said.

“I’ve always cherished them, but the jersey in which he was the Springboks captain –- which is quite different from his other ones –- that shirt was missing.”

Abie Malan was a hooker who played 18 Tests for the Springboks. He was rangy for a rake, by modern standards, standing 183 centimetres tall and weighing just 80 kilograms. He was one of the first ball-carrying hookers, known for his pace and athleticism as well as the traditional set-piece strengths.

South Africa had hosted the Wallabies for a four-month tour including four Test matches in Pretoria, Cape Town, Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth.

The Wallabies drew the Test series with wins at Newlands Stadium and Ellis Park.

It would go down in Wallabies history as a very special tour. It was the first time any touring side had beaten the Springboks in two consecutive Test matches since the Lions of 1896.

It was also the last time the Wallabies would record a win on the highveld for 47 years. The hoodoo was only broken when Kurtley Beale’s penalty goal sealed a 41-39 victory at Bloemfontein in 2010.

Documented in the book, Springbok Saga, by Chris Greyvenstein, the 1963 Wallabies were described as a side that busted the stereotype of Australia’s exciting but mercurial style of running rugby.

“Gone was the unpredictability, and flair which used to impress [South Africans] so much that we always wanted to follow suit and frequently came to grief as a result,” Greyvenstein wrote.

“In its place was a new approach; the 1963 Wallabies rarely took risks, their backs were defenders first and foremost and unless they received the ball quickly and cleanly they did not attempt to attack.”

It was a successful strategy, incorporating the best of the Australians’ handling and running skills with structure and starch up front.

Miller played the first Test of the series. Malan captained the side for the first two Tests, was dropped for the third and reinstated for the final Test, which the Springboks comfortably won 22-6 in Port Elizabeth.

Nineteen of those Wallabies were alive to mark the 50th anniversary of the historic tour last year.

A group of 10 returned to Cape Town to watch the Springboks steamroll the Ewen McKenzie-coached Wallabies 28-8 in September.

Abie Malan’s son-in-law Thys Lombard met the group and took them to the stadium.

“I remember walking with some of the Wallabies onto the Newlands pitch on the Thursday evening. They had tears in their eyes from the memories after 50 years,” Lombard said.

It was that tour that prompted David Malan to search for his father’s missing jersey. He put feelers out that month but did not hear anything until a 3am email in February.

“That’s where it all started, it took six weeks from then but it felt like six years,” Malan said.

Abie Malan, 78, is still farming grapes for raisin production on the family’s property outside Upington in the Northern Cape, the largest and most sparsely populated of South Africa’s provinces, which also includes part of the Kalahari Desert.

Miller, after selling ‘Rona’ for more than $8 million last month, is living full-time on the land too, running Coolac Cattle Company outside Jugiong.

David Malan and Lombard called Abie Malan when they met with Robinson on Thursday to tell him they were holding the jersey.

Too nervous to speak in English, but eager to prove old sporting rivalries are never forgotten, he told Robinson in Afrikaans: “Tell [Miller] he can keep the jersey, I’d rather have the house in Sydney”.

White labelled the win – which cemented the side’s spot at the top of the Super Rugby ladder – a “huge result” and thanked Cheika for handing him the ammunition.

Coach of the NSW Waratahs, Michael Cheika. Photo: Getty Images

“We had to front up today, they are very abrasive, they’ve got big, strong ball-runners, they bashed the Reds, so we knew we would have to front up,” he said.

“There had been a lot of talk in the media about [going] toe to toe and intensity and aggression, so I suppose I must thank Mike [Cheika] for making my team talk easier, I just put it all on the board.”

Cheika suggested the game, despite the score line, was “tight”, tilted only by a massively lopsided penalty count.

“It was only two tries to one in the end, it was not like we were chasing tries everywhere,” he said.

“It was a tight game in many aspects and we finally got a try in the end…”.

When that assessment was put to White, he said: “Whatever Michael Cheika says, we believe, don’t we”.

He also dredged up the infamous broken door incident from the Brumbies-Waratahs game three weeks ago. Cheika accidentally shattered the pane of glass in the Canberra Stadium facility when he pushed open the door at the end of the match.

White was asked for his take on the penalty count, which grew to 19-9 against NSW and was questioned by Cheika in his post-match comments.

“I just want to see if our coaches’ box is still alright, because I have to get [chief executive John Smit] to get some insurance for it,” White said.

“Hopefully it’s not too damaged.”

The niggle goes back some way, but was generally one-sided when both were coaching in Australia.

White raised eyebrows in the Waratahs when he said it would be an “indictment” on Australia if NSW fullback Israel Folau was picked by the Wallabies before agreeing to extend his one-year stay in rugby.

He also questioned, very early on last season, whether the much-talked about running rugby style Cheika had promised NSW fans had in fact materialised.

On the field both coaches drew blood. The Waratahs copped a 35-6 hiding in Canberra in round four before turning the tables with a 28-22 win in Sydney in round 14.

Cheika was pleased with the team’s defensive effort – an aspect they worked on all week at training – but said their attack was hobbled at the ruck and then by handling errors.

“The backs are trying to align and come onto the ball, so when the ball bobbles around at the ruck the backs come, they stop, they come again, passes weren’t great tonight,” he said.

“We were a bit across field, not as direct as we could have been, and when you run across field passes often go astray.

“That attacking part of the game that has been a strong point for us, we were disappointed with tonight, for sure.”

The result leaves the Waratahs inside the top six but one point behind the Brumbies in the Australian conference.

A win against the Sharks would have put the Waratahs at a commanding lead in the Australian conference after the Brumbies’ loss to Melbourne on Friday.

The squad travels to Cape Town on Wednesday to play the Stormers. They will be bolstered by the arrival of Folau from Australia, although his fitness is still being monitored.

South African official Stuart Berry – who whistled the Queensland Reds off Ellis Park in Johannesburg on the weekend – is among four Super Rugby referees axed for poor performances. Berry, compatriot Lourens van der Merwe, Argentina’s Francisco Pastrana and Australian referee Angus Gardner were all stood down by governing body SANZAR on Monday.

Date

March 24, 2014 – 6:36PM

Jim Morton

Stuart Berry during the match between the Lions and the Reds at Ellis Park at the weekend. Photo: Getty Images

The quartet paid the price for sub-par displays as SANZAR referees boss Lyndon Bray takes a hard stance on improving the competition’s standard of refereeing. Bray last week indicated there would be a purge of officials at the end of the month but has wielded the axe a week early, following continued on-field controversies.

Berry had come under widespread criticism – from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa – after he penalised the Reds 17-4 against the Lions, who came back from 20-3 down to win 23-20 in Johannesburg on Sunday morning Australian time. Reds coach Richard Graham, particularly incensed by the final 10 minutes of the game, said he’d never seen such a lop-sided count.

Berry was due to stand as assistant referee in Pretoria this weekend but has been taken off duty for at least two weeks, as has Gardner.

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The performances of Berry, who awarded a controversial try to the Lions against the Blues the week before, and van der Merwe in South Africa had sparked renewed calls for SANZAR to return to neutral referees.

Graham had previously made a formal complaint about van der Merwe’s display in Queensland’s 35-20 loss to the Sharks in Durban the week before.

Cheetahs coach Naka Drotske was just as cutting after panning Pastrana following his side’s 40-30 loss to the Blues in Auckland.

Van der Merwe has been stripped of controlling this Saturday’s Blues-Highlanders clash in Auckland, while Pastrana has been replaced by Nick Briant, who will referee Friday night’s Crusaders-Hurricanes game in Christchurch.

Bray has dismissed the need for neutral referees but said decreasing the pool of officials would see more consistency, with the very best handling more games heading into the finals. ”One of our core strategic objectives is to grow the depth of the team that is able to referee ‘any game, any time’,” he said. ”In line with this, we have reduced the size of the team heading into the next phase of the competition and in doing so, have recognised who has performed to expectation and who has not.”

Rugby Reporter

Young guns: The Pampas round up the ACT’s Clyde Rathbone last week. Photo: Melissa Adams MLA

The Pampas, who play a Waratahs A side featuring Cam Crawford, Rob Horne, Jono Lance and Tala Grey in Sydney on Friday, will form the core of the Argentinian team slated to join Super Rugby in 2016.

They are playing in Australia this month in the IRB’s Pacific Rugby Cup and beat a Brumbies A side boasting Clyde Rathbone, Josh Mann-Rea and rising star Allan Alaalatoa last week.

Waratahs coach Michael Cheika rates the Pampas the best team in the competition, which is functioning as Australia’s “Super B” tournament. NSW are using their Super Rugby bye week to help their second team prepare for Friday’s clash.

“It’s quite a big game against the Pampas, they’re the best team in the PRC competition. We’re lucky we’re going to have everyone available who’s not been in our first team.”

The Pampas have been around for a number of years, playing in South Africa’s Vodacom Cup for four seasons from 2010. But the nation’s likely inclusion in Super Rugby from 2016 has put the team front and centre in Argentina’s development plans and prompted their move to the PRC.

New Pumas coach Daniel Hourcade, who coached the Pampas from 2010 until he took over the Test job from Santiago Phelan late last year, is in Australia overseeing the side’s progress.

“The idea is to have this Pampas 15 and some of the players that now are playing in Europe [in the Super Rugby team],” Hourcade said. “We need them to play as many games as possible like this. We have come here to improve our level against the Australian way of playing, which is strong and dynamic. We need to be much faster and more dynamic.”

Pumas halfback Martin Landajo is captaining the side, which also includes Pumas rookies Tomas Lavanini (second row) and Patricio Fernandez (five-eighth). Fernandez was named man of the match in their 32-23 win over the ACT XV, scoring two tries and adding a further 12 points off the boot. He and Lavanini are among a number of Pampas players considered the new generation of Argentina Test regulars.

A bid to lure home big-name players from Europe is also at the heart of Argentina’s planning. Hourcade hopes the country’s inclusion in Super Rugby will give some of the Pumas’ best players – such as Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, Juan Imhoff, Pablo Matera and Facundo Isa – a reason to stay at home year-round.

“With Super Rugby we will have at least 30 matches in a year, with 15 Super games, six Tests, six Rugby Championship Tests and some trials in June and November,” he said. “With this ambitious schedule players should not have to move to Europe to find a higher [standard of] competition.”

It will not bring everyone home, with the Argentinian Rugby Union (UAR) unable to compete with the salaries of some of the big French and English sides. But Hourcade hopes the development of the Pampas during the next two seasons will convince some to invest in their homeland’s future.

“They will have to make a decision, go for a better salary in Europe – which is a reality – or trust in the project and be proud to play for Argentina,” he said.

The Pampas play the Waratahs Gen Blue at David Phillips Field in Daceyville on Friday at 3pm. Entry is free.

Having recently selected a Springbok side containing no less than 10 players contracted to oversea’s clubs, Heyneke Meyer has certainly set a new precedent for domestic players both young and older, who harbour Springbok aspirations.

Some like former Springbok coach Jake White have recently said the Springbok’s policy of picking overseas players is a ticking time bomb. A multi-faceted argument based on fears of player ‘drain’, weakened domestic competitions, decreased revenue from sponsorship to broadcasting revenues and with it the very means with which to keep top-level players in the country. These concerns come directly from the sponsors themselves, scribes from NZAR Super rugby unions and not just the sage-like Jake White.

A perpetual ticking time bomb indeed.

On the flip-side Ruggaworld’s own guru Morne has questioned just what type of effect this would have on all of the above, if any at all? He went on further to state that he thought such was the depth and structures in South African rugby, any perceived exodus due to these new policies would be sustainable. He sited the flow from Grant Khomo Week through to Craven Week, Club rugby, Varsity Cup, Vodacom Cup, Currie Cup and to Super Rugby as being the means to consistently produce and sustain quality Springbok players capable of being world-beaters despite concerns.

Considering the antithesis of Heyneke’s new policy having being in effect for over a decade and only really starting in June this year, there really is no data to further any debate without being subjective.

In the next few years will there be a marked exodus of quality players. By quality I mean players of Super Rugby standard, capable of both keeping RSA Super teams winning and of course at the same time contributing to a world beating Springbok side? Will the quality of domestic competitions wane? Will sponsors pull their funds? Could this lead to NZAR finally splitting from SARU in Super rugby?

Right now the answers would be about as accurate as Mark Keohane’s ‘bones’.

It is for this reason I thought it would be handy keeping a running tab on this thread. Documenting every professional South African player leaving to play in competitions and leagues overseas, rather than ply their trade domestically.Over the next few years, with particular emphasis on the Rugby World Cup 2015 and the new Super Rugby broadcasting rights renewal we should be able to draw some better data with which to see just what effect this selection policy has had on South African rugby domestically and internationally.

With that in mind I’ll start by listing the current South African players announcing their departure in June after Heyneke’s announcement of first test squads. As the list develops so to the means and method of data can evolve with it… a kind of living organism.

Former Brumbies and Wallabies have rallied to support Jones following what appeared to be a minor stroke in Japan on Tuesday.

Sports Writer, The Canberra Times

”He’s the Mecca, pretty much what he says goes over here [Japan]. He’s very highly regarded,” Andy Friend says on Eddie Jones.

Former Wallabies and Brumbies coach Eddie Jones is a ”perfectionist” who has built a career on an unbeatable work ethic and passion to succeed, Australian great Stephen Larkham says.

The 53-year-old, who now coaches Japan, was taken to hospital where he is said to have suffered some paralysis of his left side. According to reports, he was able to converse.

Former Brumbies coach Andy Friend said Jones was the ”Mecca” of Japanese rugby.

Friend now coaches the Canon Eagles in Japan’s Top League competition and has worked closely with Jones in developing the country’s rugby talent.

”He’s the Mecca, pretty much what he says goes over here,” Friend said. ”He’s very highly regarded.

”Japan is all about a work ethic and Eddie probably has the biggest work ethic there is in the game. He fits the Japanese culture and he’s very astute as a coach.”

Jones led Japan to victory against Wales for the first time this year.

He coached Larkham at the Brumbies and the Wallabies.

”You think the worst when you see the headline with ‘stroke’ in it,” Larkham said.

”Eddie was very dedicated and passionate as a coach. He spent a lot of hours preparing, he spent more time in the office than anyone else. He’s continued that work ethic in Japan, he’s a perfectionist and has a big workload in Japanese rugby.”

Jones was preparing the Japanese team for a historic clash against New Zealand in Tokyo on November 2.

It will the first time the All Blacks have played a Test in Japan.

Former Brumbies coach Jake White was considering flying from South Africa to Japan to be by Jones’ side.

Jones was White’s assistant coach when the Springboks won the World Cup in 2007.

Jones also led the Brumbies to a Super Rugby title in 2001 before guiding the Wallabies into the 2003 World Cup before he was sacked in 2005.

Despite being based in Japan, Jones has been a crucial element in the Brumbies’ success over the past two seasons.

White recruited him as a consultant coach and Larkham still uses Jones as a sounding board.

”He always had good honesty towards the players, he didn’t beat around the bush and was brutally honest sometimes,” Larkham said.

”He was great at getting the best out of individuals. I’ve been speaking to Eddie on and off since he finished off in Australia. I had some good meetings before I started coaching [in 2011].

”He has immense knowledge of coaching in rugby and in general and he’s great to bounce ideas off.”

Stirling Mortlock, Adam Freier and Matt Giteau were among a host of former Wallabies and Brumbies sending messages of support to Jones.

”Eddie has a very, very good work ethic and that sets that standard for everyone around him,” Jones’ Brumbies and Wallabies predecessor Rod Macqueen said.

”Eddie can be very proud of what he’s done … He’s never stopped coaching, he’s a true full-time professional coach.”

Will Genia has been dropped from the Wallabies starting side. Photo: Getty Images

Mowen becomes the Wallabies sixth captain in two years and will take over the reins in just his seventh Test, making him one of the most inexperienced skippers in Australian history.

Halfback Genia has been axed to the bench with rookie Nic White to take over the No.9 duties.

Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie revealed the decision to bench Genia was not taken lightly, “The fact that Will has captained his country shows what high regard we hold him in, and while he is naturally disappointed, I also know how competitive he is and I’ve got no doubts he will train himself to a standstill to bounce back as a better player,” McKenzie said.

“We’ve spoken about what areas we believe he can continue to improve and evolve his game and he was receptive to going back and addressing those things.

“In the end, it wasn’t an easy decision because he is undoubtedly a world-class player.”

In other changes, prop Ben Alexander returns to the starting XV at tighthead while Quade Cooper retains his place at five-eighth.

White has only played 16 minutes of Test rugby and made his Wallabies debut last month.

Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie has made changes as the team searches for a win to snap its four-game losing streak.

The Wallabies are already without regular captain James Horwill (hamstring) while leader David Pocock is still recovering from a knee reconstruction.

McKenzie hasn’t won a match as Test coach after taking over from Robbie Deans in July.

A defeat at the hands of Argentina would be a massive blow to Australian rugby.

McKenzie remains confident of avoiding any banan skins against the Pumas, “Rugby is a game of chess and we will look forward to the challenge of getting the right balance and our first Rugby Championship win,” the coach said.

Mowen only made his Test debut in June against the British and Irish Lions. In his six Tests, he has won just one match.

The ACT Brumbies captain has been outstanding at the Canberra franchise.

He moved to the capital at the start of the 2012 season for a fresh start after years at the NSW Waratahs trying to break into the Test squad.

Mowen feared his international window had closed.

But switching to the Brumbies has reinvigorated his career and he is widely regarded as one of the best leaders in Australian rugby.

At the start of the year Mowen turned down lucrative offers from Japan to stay in Australia and chase his Wallabies dreams.

It has paid off.

He helped guide the Brumbies into the Super Rugby final, made his international debut against the Lions and has established himself as a crucial cog in the Wallabies forward pack.

White will fill the hole left by Genia.

His kicking game will be a massive boost for the Wallabies but Genia’s absence leaves a gaping hole in Australia’s experience.

White sat on the bench behind Genia last year, but was never given a chance on the field.

When White made the tough choice to have shoulder surgery instead of playing in the Rugby Championship last year, Genia suffered a season-ending knee injury and Nick Phipps was given a chance in the Wallabies No.9 jersey.

But White continued his impressive rise from club rugby this season and has earned the right to test himself against the Pumas.

Israel Folau has made the long-awaited switch to fullback and Quade Cooper will start for the Wallabies against the Springboks in Brisbane on Saturday.
Date
September 4, 2013 – 11:02AM
Georgina Robinson

Quade Cooper will start at five-eighth for the Wallabies against South Africa. Photo: Getty Images

Folau has been named in a back three with wingers James O’Connor and Nick Cummins, who comes into the side at the expense of Brumbies fullback Jesse Mogg.

Folau moves to fullback after five Tests on the wing. Folau played fullback for the Waratahs all season and named the No.15 jersey as his preferred position.

Cooper makes his starting return at five-eighth, squeezing out Matt Toomua, who started both Tests against the All Blacks last month. Toomua and Mogg both move to the bench.

Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie has kept his midfield intact, naming Adam Ashley-Cooper and Christian Leali’ifano in the centres for the third Test in a row.

“We have very specific thoughts about how we want to play this game and feel Quade is best suited to carrying that out,” McKenzie said.

“He’s been part of our matchday squad in both games so far but his role now changes from being a finisher to starting the game. We feel that role will suit how we want to play.

“He is also an experienced and successful Test player, which is handy to have against a hardened Springboks outfit.

“It has been almost 12 months since he last started a Test match and I’m sure there were times where he wondered if he would wear the number 10 jersey again. He’s worked really hard both on and off the field to now get that chance.

“He’s carried himself extremely well all year and during the last fortnight in the role we’ve asked him to complete. Now, he gets a chance to make an impact from the start of the game.

“That also means we’re asking Matt [Toomua] to fulfil a new role this week. He has had a great season so far and his form was reflected in our decision to choose him for the opening two Test matches. He’s still in our Test squad and will have a part to play in our success this week and moving forward.”

Versatile prop Sekope Kepu replaces Ben Alexander at tighthead, with the Brumbies prop moving to the bench in the only change to the starting eight.

Reds back-rower Jake Schatz has taken Liam Gill’s spot on the bench in an effort to beef up the Wallabies pack.

All four have been invited to the Brumbies’ pre-season training in October, and are key planks in Queanbeyan’s John I Dent Cup premiership charge.

On Saturday, Queanbeyan will vie for its first grand final appearance since its 2010 premiership in the preliminary final against Royals at Viking Park.

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”I’d like to say yes [they’ll play for us next year] but they’re chasing their dream of playing at the highest level possible and we support that 100 per cent,” Fahey said. ”We’ll do everything we can to help them become professional rugby players.

”They’ve brought a good mix to our club, the serious nature of the way they approach their rugby and their South African sense of humour off it, which is unique at times.”

Western Force is increasingly looking to South Africa for talent to avoid bidding wars with sides on Australia’s east coast.

Fahey said the huge playing depth and multi-layer path to the top in their homeland makes Australia an attractive option for South Africans. ”They’re playing outside [Queanbeyan star] Robbie Coleman, a Super Rugby player at the Brumbies, and within three months they’ll potentially start training with the elite squad. That’s unheard of in South Africa – you have to go through three or four different levels to get looked at.

”We asked Jake if he knew of any quality players in positions we wanted to strengthen, and the ones who came here have paid off.”

HP Momsen admitted the South Africans were enjoying the more attacking style prevalent in Australia. ”Back home it’s more physical; we find there’s more running rugby here,” he said. ”It’s good for us, you can play with a bit more flair.

”In South Africa we had scholarship opportunities with the Sharks and Cheetahs, but they have 150 players in their squads and it’s more difficult to get into a Super Rugby team there.

”We want to play Super Rugby one day and it would be great if we can get into the Brumbies’ system.”

Rugby Reporter

Talks: Mickey Arthur. Photo: Getty Images

Arthur is understood to have spent the past couple of months in discussions with Force chief executive Mark Sinderberry about stepping into a role centred around talent development and recruitment at the club. Fairfax Media has been told a deal could be reached as early as next week, when Sinderberry returns from annual leave.

Arthur, 45, has extensive rugby connections to his native South Africa and helped the Force lure five-eighth Sias Ebersohn from the Cheetahs last year. He could also play a key role in any academy squad the Force starts as part of the proposed Australian Super Rugby development competition, which was put to the board of the Australian Rugby Union on Tuesday.

Arthur returned to Perth after his sensational sacking as the coach of the Australian cricket team two weeks before the start of the Ashes series in England in June. He is director of cricket at Anglican boys school Christ Church Grammar but, having lived in Perth for three years, developed a good relationship with Force head coach Michael Foley since the latter’s move there a year ago. ”I’m very passionate about rugby union,” Arthur said in January. ”I’ve jumped on the Western Force and talk a lot to Michael Foley, and I’m trying to help the Force with a little bit of recruitment from South Africa.”

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The Force are increasingly looking to South Africa as a source of affordable talent that reduces their exposure to the high-priced bidding wars in the Australian market.

At the start of this month they announced former Stormers centre Marcel Brache and prop Chris Heiberg would play for them next year, joining Ebersohn and Bulls second-rower Wilhelm Steenkamp.

The ARU has given the Force and the Melbourne Rebels considerable room to move with recruitment. While the Reds, Waratahs and Brumbies are limited to two foreign signings on their rosters, the Force, for example, are now allowed six foreign development players and two marquees.

”With four provinces fighting over the same players on the east coast, we’ll continue to think outside the square with regard to our recruitment,” Sinderberry said.

Arthur’s addition to the payroll could give the club significant access to the South African market, not to mention the benefit of his coaching experience.

Arthur took the South African cricket team to the top of the international rankings during his five-year stint as head coach, before moving to Australia.

He coached the West Australian team for a year before taking on the top national job as the first foreigner to coach the Australian cricket team.

Following his sacking in June, with two years left to run on his contract, Arthur lodged a case for unfair dismissal with Fair Work Australia. He reached a settlement with Cricket Australia reported to be worth an estimated $600,000, or equivalent to one year’s salary plus bonuses.

Code-breakers: Coaches who have crossed divides

Mickey Arthur

Having enjoyed huge success with the South African cricket team, reviving the fortunes of the Australian side proved beyond Arthur, below, who is now in talks with the Force over a switch to rugby.

Clive Woodward

Rugby World Cup winning-coach of England who moved into football, spending a tumultuous 12 months as performance director, then director of football, at Southampton.

Brian Smith

The former rugby league coach for St George, Parramatta, the Roosters and Newcastle enjoyed a successful collaboration as defence consultant with the Brumbies, helping the team make the Super Rugby final this year.

Ric Charlesworth

Sheffield Shield-winning cricketer for Western Australia in the 1970s who also won Olympic silver with the Kookaburras during a 227-game hockey career. Went on to coach the Hockeyroos for seven years.

Shaun Edwards

England and Wigan rugby league legend who moved to rugby as a coach and is now defence coach for Wales under Warren Gatland.

John Muggleton

Former Eels and Origin player for NSW who coached Georgia at the 2011 Rugby World Cup then spent two seasons as defence coach at the Melbourne Rebels.

The Qantas Wallabies have announced five uncapped players in their 23-man Test squad with playmakerMatt Toomua to make his debut at flyhalf in Saturday night’s opening Bledisloe Cup and Castrol EDGE Rugby Championship clash against New Zealand at ANZ Stadium.

Toomua is the sole debutant to be chosen in new coach Ewen McKenzie’s inaugural Test starting line-up while fellow uncapped ACT Brumbies teammates Scott Sio, Scott Fardy, Nic White and Tevita Kuridrani have all earned places on the bench.

The selection of five uncapped players marks a new era under McKenzie and is reward for their year-long performances in a Brumbies side that only marginally went down to New Zealand’s Chiefs in the Super Rugby Final a fortnight ago.

They’ll be expected to play an integral role in a new-look Qantas Wallabies line-up that includes eight changes to the starting XV which took the field for Australia in their final Test against The British & Irish Lions in July.

Those changes comprise of Ben Mowen shifting to No.8 and James O’Connor to the wing, along with the inclusion of prop James Slipper, lock Rob Simmons, flankers Hugh McMeniman and Michael Hooper, fullback Jesse Mogg and Toomua.

McKenzie said he was confident the new group could achieve immediate success as they begin their pursuit of winning the Bledisloe Cup for the first time since 2002.

“When we picked the team we didn’t spend one minute looking at how many Test caps a player had or the number of debutants. It was picked on performance over a sustained period of time and on how we want to play the game,” McKenzie said.

“The fact that five guys haven’t played a Test before isn’t a concern. Everyone has to start from somewhere and we definitely haven’t picked them on one game. Rather, they are starting their Test careers off the back of consistently strong performances at a provincial level.

“The reality is that whether it’s in Super Rugby or the Test arena, all our guys have a lot of familiarity with who we are playing against. I see that as a positive as we aren’t playing anyone we don’t already know a lot about.

“If you keep the contest in that space you will find that we’ve had success in all the head-to-head individual battles at some point and under different circumstances.

“So, if our guys do well against their individual opponent, than I think we’ve got a gameplan and a game style where we will be able to express ourselves and put the team in a good position to win.”

All five potential debutants have experienced unique journeys on their way to winning selection in the Qantas Wallabies line-up for Saturday night.

For Toomua, his selection has been four years in the making after the talented 23-year-old made the briefest of appearances for Australia in an uncapped midweek clash against the Cardiff Blues in 2009.

Toomua lasted just four minutes when a broken jaw ended his night prematurely, setting the tone for a frustrating next three seasons where he was limited to just 28 Super Rugby games heading into 2013.

Having enjoyed an injury-free preseason, Toomua has stepped up to the next level during the past year and was an integral member to both the Brumbies’ Super Rugby Finals Series success and also their historic midweek victory over The British & Irish Lions in June.

“We could have gone many different ways at flyhalf as we have a lot of good options there, but in the end we see some great tactical opportunities starting the game with Matt,” McKenzie said.

“It’s obvious that each of our playmaking options have different styles so it’s important that we’re looking to get the best out of their individual strengths at different stages of the game.

“To his credit, Matt has had a really good season and he has been playing up until last week in a team that made the Super Rugby Final. He’s done a lot of good things and there isn’t any reason he doesn’t deserve a go.”

While just 21 years of age, Sio flashed enormous potential in his second year of Super Rugby to earn a place on the Qantas Wallabies bench.

However his rapid rise has not come unexpectedly, with Sio continuing his family’s long Rugby tradition after father and prop Tevita ‘David’ Sio represented Samoa in the 1991 Rugby World Cup.

It will also be a special occasion for Sio and his family after the 116kg prop was initially named in the Qantas Wallabies squad to take on The British & Irish Lions only to miss out on matchday selection throughout the series.

Joining Sio on the bench is fellow 21-year-old youngster Tevita Kuridrani, who was a deserving winner of the ‘Most Outstanding Young Talent’ award at the Brumbies annual awards ceremony at the weekend.

Also in just his second year of Super Rugby, Kuridrani quickly solidified his place in the starting line-up with an emphasis on strong ball running highlighted when he scored the winning try in the Brumbies upset victory over the Bulls in the Super Rugby Semi-Final.

While Kuridrani just pips Sio as the youngest member of the potential debutants, it’s 29-year-old backrower Scott Fardy who sits at the other end of the spectrum.

It has been an unlikely journey for Fardy to Qantas Wallabies selection after he left Australia for Japanese club Kamaishi Seawaves in 2009 having never played a game of Super Rugby despite spending a season with the Western Force Academy in 2008.

However, after being forced to return to Australia when his village was wiped out by the 2011 tsunami, Fardy took up an Extended Playing Squad contract with the Brumbies only to be offered a fulltime contracted midway through the 2012 season.

He has taken massive strides since returning to Australia and has shown the ability to be equally productive as either a backrower or lock.

Scrumhalf Nic White has been waiting in the wings for a number of years to receive an opportunity for Australia after having sat on the bench for all three of the Qantas Wallabies wins over Wales last June before a shoulder injury ended any hopes of making a Test debut during the Spring Tour.

White returned to full health in 2013 but was overlooked for Australia’s recent series against The British & Irish Lions only to feature heavily in the Brumbies playoff run which ended just short of a dream finish in the Super Rugby Final.

Tickets for the Qantas Wallabies clash against the All Blacks at ANZ Stadium on Saturday 17 August are on sale now via www.ticketek.com.au.

The Qantas Wallabies side to play New Zealand in the opening Bledisloe Cup and Castrol EDGE Rugby Championship match at ANZ Stadium on Saturday 17 August is:

​The Australian Rugby Union is open to an overhaul of Super Rugby that would see more trans-Tasman derbies and up to two Argentinian teams included in the competition.

Rugby Reporter

New challenge: up to two Argentinian teams could included in a revamped competition. Photo: AFP

Super Rugby’s governing body, SANZAR, is under pressure to include a sixth South African team in the competition from 2016 and believes the best way of doing so is to cut the current three-conference system down to two conferences that would not play each other until a finals series.

One conference would include the current Australian and New Zealand teams and the other would include six South African teams and up to two sides from Argentina.

ARU chief executive Bill Pulver would not commit to a preferred model on Thursday but said he supported the inclusion of Argentina, which is playing its second season in the Rugby Championship this year.

It is also understood that while Australia might have preferred to stay with the current three conference model during previous discussions, the prospect of less travel and more marketable derby-style matches between New Zealand and Australian sides has the ARU looking closely at the proposal.

Australian teams would play each other twice and all New Zealand teams once before meeting the top three or four teams from the eight-team South Africa-Argentina conference.

It is becoming less and less likely that Super Rugby in its current format will exist beyond the next Rugby World Cup.

Its new shape is expected to be decided on by the SANZAR nations and Argentina by the end of this year.

A further expansion including an Asian team, possibly Japan, is also on the cards. But Pulver said there was no plan to include a Pacific Islands-based franchise.

Also in the works for 2016 is a new international calendar that would see the June internationals window moved to July and Super Rugby finishing before that break.

The International Rugby Players’ Association has been behind the push, with the SANZAR nations and England’s Premiership Rugby clubs on board.

“I am very enthusiastic about the possibility of having that change,” Pulver said. “Having a Test series take place in June is really quite inconvenient from a Super Rugby perspective. Having to break the competition for a month, particularly for those teams not in the finals series, is very disruptive.”

Wallabies and Waratahs No.7 Michael Hooper also backed the move, saying it made sense to “clean up” the calendar.

“As Waratahs we had to break up for a couple of weeks, come back, play one game against the Reds,” Hooper said. “It’s difficult, while the main squad is training throughout that window you lose guys, guys come back, and it would just clean up the year. I think most players would be for that.”

The Lions have been here before. We won the first Test in Brisbane 12 years ago and everyone was feeling confident off the back of that performance. But we came to Melbourne and were beaten and then we lost the series in Sydney. No one wants a repeat of that. It is all about making sure this game is won and Warren Gatland’s selections reflect that.

June 29, 2013

Jason Robinson

He has brought in Ben Youngs to replace Mike Phillips at halfback, which should give the Lions a little more zip around the ruck. Tommy Bowe coming back on to the wing is also massive. The Irishman and George North in combination with fullback Leigh Halfpenny will threaten the Wallabies everywhere if the ball ends up in their hands.

It is a strong Lions team and they will be confident going into this game but also mindful that the game last week could have been lost. Although the Australians took a lot of injuries and had to make a lot of changes, they came within a whisker of winning the game.

They will have looked at the video and at all those changes in Australia’s back line and said ”If that kick goes over everything is radically different.” That shows how close these games are and is probably why Gatland has decided to make a few changes.

It was interesting to see Robbie Deans stick with James O’Connor at five-eighth and push Kurtley Beale back to fullback.

Last week, with those few runs he made in Brisbane, Beale showed he certainly knows how to break a defensive line.

I am a massive fan of his and I think that missing that final kick will have disappointed him so he will be out to make a statement this week.

The Lions need to keep a close eye on Israel Folau as well, because scoring two tries on your debut is ridiculous and if the Wallabies can get more ball out to him he will cause more problems for the tourists.

It was always going to be difficult for O’Connor. When you’re not used to playing No.10 it’s one of the highest pressure positions on the field and when your team suffers the injuries that they did it’s always going to put more pressure on you. But it’s pretty simple for him, his job is to control the game, he’s got to get his guys playing in the right areas and involved as much as possible.

At times he also needs to get a little deeper, because I’m sure the Lions will look to put as much pressure on him as possible. But O’Connor is a fantastic player, there is no doubt about it, and just playing those 80 minutes there would have done him the world of good. He’ll be looking to work well with Will Genia, who is one of the best players on the planet at the moment.

When I think back to the 2001 series there is no doubt that winning the first game gives you a massive boost and in a lot of ways you also play knowing you have that buffer.

In the first half we played really well, we were leading 11-6 at the break, and it was only in the second half that it all fell apart. You often talk about games turning at a certain point. In that Test match it was really winger Joe Roff’s intercept try in the 41st minute that started to swing it in favour of the Wallabies. You look at all Tests and quite often they come down to one or two things. Twelve years ago it was Roff’s interception; who knows what it’s going to be in this game.

But for all the Lions’ justified confidence heading into this match, you can never underestimate an Australian side down on its luck.

Even though they lost the first Test 12 years ago and they lost it again this time around, every time you play the Wallabies they are a very confident side.

And you know that even though you’re one-up, you can’t take anything for granted.

From an Australian perspective, when you are forced into a position where you have to win a game, it tends to bring out the best in the players.

Wallabies skipper James Horwill is not concerned about the spectre of another hearing into his alleged stamping on the head of British and Irish Lions second-rower Alun Wyn Jones, declaring that multiple camera angles not yet publicly seen would again vindicate him.

June 28, 2013 – 10:57AM

I didn’t know anything about any incident until after I was cited after the game.

Horwill was cited for a third-minute incident in the second Test when he struck Jones in the head during a ruck, but the Wallabies second-rower was later cleared by a hearing held by judicial officer Nigel Hampton.

However, the International Rugby Board has sparked controversy by effectively appealing its own decision and ordered a rehearing which will take place after Saturday’s second Test against the Lions at Melbourne’s Etihad Stadium.

It is an unwelcome distraction for the Wallabies that must win Saturday’s game after losing the first Test 23-21.

Despite the uncertainty he is now facing – an unfavourable decision could rule him out of a potentially series-deciding third Test in Sydney – Horwill said the IRB ‘‘was entitled to do what they’ve done’’ but he believed the initial hearing, which had viewed nine different camera angles, had given the ‘‘correct result’’.

‘‘I think they just showed that I was completely unaware of what was going on and you can just see that with the different angles,’’ Horwill said. ‘‘You can slow anything down to make it look different but if you look at it from a number of angles you can see what happened.’’

Horwill said he was a clean player and had not even realised that he had struck Jones, who had required stitches.

‘‘‘I didn’t know anything about any incident until I was told the next morning,’’ Horwill said.

“I had no idea about anything that had happened during the game, (and) still when I was told I had been cited I had no idea what it was for until I was shown the incident a number of times.

‘‘It was a completely accidental act, there was no intent from my side. That’s the way it was, there was no intent, there was no malice. I completely had no idea Alun was anywhere near my feet.

‘‘Any incident you look at you can make it look worse than it is. I’m confident about what happened on the field. I have no knowledge of anything ever happening.’’

‘‘There were nine different camera angles to look at, so it was very thorough and the hearing went through it’s due process.

‘‘I’ve played 130 professional rugby games and never been cited once (and have) never attended any judicial hearing. It was a complete accident. Unfortunately accidents happen in rugby, it’s a contact sport and there was no intent or malice on my end to do anything.’’

Mitchell apologised to Mr Barry in the courtroom, describing his actions as ‘‘totally unacceptable and unforgivable’’.

‘‘I hope you recover from your injuries and I’m truly sorry,’’ he told his victim.

But his lawyer John Cook did the talking outside of court, saying his client realised how close he was to serving time.

Mr Cook said he couldn’t say what implications a recorded conviction would have on Mitchell’s playing career.

Mitchell, who stood stony-faced behind his lawyer, refused to answer similar questions.

But Mr Cook said Mitchell had paid his fine and compensation and would be leaving the country after having his passport returned.

‘‘We’re in a position now where he wants to head off, he’s had a night in the watch house, he had very little sleep and was obviously very anxious because a term of imprisonment (was possible),’’ he said.

Mr Barry, a solicitor and son of retired Family Court judge James Barry, said he didn’t think Mitchell’s apology was genuine.

The Chiefs jumped to the top of the Super Rugby table with a bonus-point 34-22 win over the Hurricanes in Hamilton on Friday.

The four-tries-to-three win means the defending champions leapfrog the Brumbies to top the overall table by 61 points to 59 with a game in hand, as the Australian teams take a two-week break for the British and Irish Lions tour.

Julian Savea of the Hurricanes makes a break. Photo: Getty Images

The Chiefs had an indifferent first half, but the Hurricanes also mixed good with bad in equal measure.

They scored two well-taken tries through TJ Perenara and Beauden Barrett and looked dangerous with the ball in hand, making plenty of breaks and kicking intelligently.

But they also conceded too many turnovers, with the Chiefs more effective at the breakdown.

Perenara’s try gave the Hurricanes the lead after 15 minutes, the nuggety halfback burrowing over after Jeremy Thrush did some good work in recycling Barrett’s raking cross-field kick.

It didn’t take the Chiefs long to reply, No.8 Matt Vant Leven latching on to a poor Hurricanes defensive lineout throw four minutes later to swoop through for the try.

Inside centre Bundee Aki extended the Chiefs’ lead at 26 minutes in a nicely worked move from the set piece, showing good pace in running onto Aaron Cruden’s perfectly weighted kick through.

But Barrett narrowed the gap on 30 minutes, making the initial break then showing good strength out wide to touch down after a quick Hurricanes recycle, leaving the Chiefs to take a 17-15 lead into halftime.

The Chiefs scrum started to gain ascendancy as the second half wore on, but had only a Cruden penalty to show for it until the 63rd minute.

With his line under pressure, Barrett couldn’t find touch with his clearing kick from a 10m scrum and Lelia Masaga made him pay with with a scything run which set up halfback Tawera Kerr-Barlow for the try.

Replacement prop Ben Tameifuna powered over for the bonus-point try with five minutes remaining, although the Hurricanes replied almost immediately through Alapati Leiua as the Chiefs’ usually organised defence slipped up.

In 2001, minus the majority of their stars away with the Wallabies, the Brumbies went pain-stakingly close to knocking the Lions over at Canberra Stadium. A late try to Austin Healey saved the Lions, who won 30-28, but it was a moment Brumbies supporters have not forgotten and will be hoping to go one better on Tuesday night.

Andrew Smith will start at inside centre for the Brumbies against the Lions.

Wallabies squad members Peter Kimlin and Scott Sio will join Canberra club star, Chris Cocca when the University of Canberra Brumbies take on the British and Irish Lions on Tuesday night.

An impressive season with Easts in Canberra’s John I Dent Cup has catapulted Cocca into the big time with the burly prop now set to tackle one of the world’s most respected set pieces.

Starting from an eight-man bench, Cocca is joined by fellow debutant prop, Jean-Pierre Smith as two of four new inclusions to the team which pummelled the Rebels two weeks ago. Smith’s identical twin brother, Ruan Smith, will start at loose-head prop.

Andrew Smith has also been included at inside-centre in his first match back since straining his hamstring against the Highlanders in round nine. He comes into the side for Pat McCabe who has been included in the Wallabies squad.

Mark Swanepoel comes onto the bench, with Ian Prior to start in place of Nic White who has a fractured scapular. The team will be skippered by Kimlin, who led the Brumbies to victory in the absence of White, two Friday’s ago against the Rebels.

“It’s fantastic for Chris that he has this opportunity to face the Lions. I’m sure he is still pinching himself,” Head Coach Jake White said.

“He’s been in fantastic form for Easts and deserves this shot at the Lions. It’s a bit of a new situation for us, with an eight-man bench, but JP [Jean-Pierre Smith] has been training with us for a month now and he’s comfortable with the job ahead of him.

“I think it’s a good indication that the competition in Canberra is becoming stronger, that we can take the local players and play them against a quality outfit like the Lions.

“In the backs it’s comforting to be able to include a guy like Andrew Smith, who’s got plenty of experience. With Tevita [Kuridrani], they form a big centre pairing and it will be interesting to see how they combine.

“This is a huge occasion for us as a team, but also individually. The Lions are one of rugby’s last romantic sides, there is plenty of history there and we know that beating the Lions will go down in Canberra’s rugby folk law for many years to come.”

HSBC Waratahs captain Dave Dennis will return from international duty to lead his state into one of the most historic matches in NSW rugby history.

14/06/2013
By HSBC Waratahs Media Unit

Dennis returns to lead NSW against Lions

HSBC Waratahs captain Dave Dennis will return from international duty to lead his state into one of the most historic matches in NSW rugby history.

One of two Wallabies released for the game by national coach Robbie Deans, Dennis and Test centre Rob Horne will add a valuable 29 caps of Test experience to the courageous young squad that last week defeated a favoured Western Force side in Perth for the first time in Super Rugby history.

With NSW looking to record their first win over Great Britain since their 18-14 victory in 1959, additional breakdown nous will be provided by the return of combative openside Pat McCutcheon. McCutcheon was expected to captain last week’s side before being withdrawn through injury. Now fully recovered from the knee knock, the club captain and former Australia Sevens captain is the third and final change to last week’s run-on side.

Although still missing 11 international players, the changes mean that Head Coach Michael Cheika has been able to field a side boasting four international players, with 63-cap Wallabies winger Drew Mitchell starting at fullback and prop Paddy Ryan, who made his Test debut in the 2012 Spring Tour against France, in at tight-head.

The rivalry between NSW and Great Britain dates back 125 years to the teams’ first meeting at the Sydney Cricket Ground on 2 June, 1888 when NSW lost 2-18. Since then, the sides have met a total of 20 times, with the NSW Waratahs recording four victories and one draw. In their last encounter on June 23, 2001 at the Sydney Football Stadium (now called Allianz Stadium), NSW lost 24-41. The NSW Waratahs last beat the Lions 18-14 at the Sydney Sports Ground in 1959.

Relishing the chance to make history, HSBC Waratahs Head Coach Michael Cheika said, “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and we want it to be something worth remembering. We’re going to go for it, we can’t be looking for a glorious defeat. As a player, you want to say that you played in an international-level fixture and you made something of it.”

Following yesterday’s announcement that Lions coach Warren Gatland had picked a strong side, led by Tour captain Sam Warburton, Cheika added, “We’re playing against a team with a massive artillery. Obviously I’d like to have all our international players available but fair play to the ARU to giving us Dave and Rob back and for releasing Bernard and Matt from the sevens camp.

“We’ve been all about trying to develop a winning attitude, no matter who’s in the jersey. The odds are against us, massively, but we’ll try and buck them. As long as there’s a chance, we’ll take it. Anything in red that moves, we’ll have a crack at. We need to play our game and do it as best we can and see what happens.”

Named on the bench are three Shute Shield players, called into the squad as cover. Whilst Richard Aho and AJ Gilbert made their NSW debuts in last week’s 28-13 win over the Force, if he takes the field, 21-year-old Sydney University prop Sam Talakei will earn his NSW debut. After pushing hard on the selection front, Liam Winton (Sydney University) and Terrence Hepetema (Randwick) have been named as the squad’s 24th and 25th players, in recognition of their contributions to the squad in the lead up to this match.

The HSBC Waratahs v British & Irish Lions match kicks off at 7.30pm AEST this Saturday, June 15 at Sydney’s Allianz Stadium. NSW fans can follow all the action live on FOX SPORTS or keep up to date with every score live on Twitter by following @NSWWaratahs or searching #WARvLIO.

HSBC Waratahs team to play The British & Irish Lions
Saturday June 15, 2013
Allianz Stadium, Sydney (7.30pm)

Schalk Burger has explained exactly how a pre-season calf strain eventually resulted in him ending up in intensive care fighting off bacterial meningitis.

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 12:31

The Springbok flank has not played since February 2012, and as a result has been the subject of much speculation, with his comeback postponed a few times due to a series of complications.

He addressed the media at Newlands on Monday and gave a full explanation of how a calf injury led to an operation on a cyst near his spine which in turn resulted in serious illness.

“Obviously there has been a lot of speculation but basically what happened was I started training with the Stormers at the beginning of this year and I felt reasonably good.

“After a while, in about 40 minutes of training or so, probably the equivalent of about 3km of running, I felt some spasticity in my left calf and when that happened I started to pull up because I was scared that I would tear or pull my calf muscle.

“Eventually I went for a back scan and it showed up that I had a cyst in my back right next to my spinal chord. I went in for an operation to relieve the pressure by draining the cyst, and unfortunately I picked up a hospital bug which led to bacterial meningitis,” he said.

Burger admitted that there were a few nervous moments for his family as he fought off the meningitis in isolation.

“There was a critical stage for about four, nearly five days in which there was a lot of uncertainty. Obviously through that period I was in isolation and I was seriously ill, so ill in fact that some people around me thought ‘this is it’.”

“Luckily I got through that and also draining the cyst wasn’t good enough so they had to come up with a new gameplan and that was actually removing the cyst.

“Unfortunately after that I had to have another three back operations. Where I am at now is that I am busy recovering, the cyst has been removed completely so I am just recovering from the bacterial meningitis,” he explained.

The Stormers stalwart said that the unkown ‘hospital bug’ that he contracted during the initial operation to drain the cyst had simply been a case of bad luck which could have happened to anyone else.

“I contracted a bug which led to bacterial meningitis, but they couldn’t pinpoint exactly what bug it was. I was basically lying in isolation in a room and not able to do much.

“I hade headaches, nausea and I was getting quite a lot of convulsions – not quite seizures but it was certainly close – so I was seriously ill and that was just unfortunate.

“I suppose when you make a hole anywhere there is the chance of infection and getting a bug. That was the serious part, and that happened just after the first procedure so it was just bad luck on my behalf,” he said.

The cyst, which has been there for about the last ten years, has since been completely removed and Burger said that he is grateful that it was identified before it did any long-term damage.

“No-one is really sure what it is about, but it could be trauma-related so it could have been a rugby injury. But it was there for a long time – approximately ten years.

“I am thankful that they caught it at that stage, because if they hadn’t it could have done some long-term damage.

“The bunch of neurosurgeons working on my case decided to have a look. They drained the cyst and analysed the contents thereof, which was benign, there was nothing serious.

“Then I fell ill and I think that influenced the way I was healing so after my illness they decided to remove it completely,” he said.

Burger hopes to return to the playing field once he recovers fully from the meningitis, which could be later this year, and joked that the Stormers’ form this season is not helping the speed of his recuperation.

“I can understand now why coaches lose hair, go grey and get pretty uptight. I think it has been a year of near-misses, I don’t think we have had any luck on or off the pitch.

“I hope for my health they start winning because my nerves and my fingernails haven’t lasted too well this year,” he quipped.

A high-performing South African student will receive a chance to study in Australia under a new scholarship announced today.

By Brumbies Media Unit

Jake White chats with a fellow former South African representative, Clyde Rathbone.

The University of Canberra Brumbies Scholarship for General Excellence, known as the ‘Jake White Scholarship’, includes University of Canberra tuition fees, subsidised accommodation and an internship with the University of Canberra Brumbies Super Rugby side.

Students who are South African citizens with a strong academic and sporting records are eligible for the scholarship.

University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor Professor Stephen Parker joined Jake White to launch the scholarship after the University of Canberra Brumbies Captain’s Run in Durban.

“An international outlook and sports teaching and research are major parts of life at the University of Canberra,” Professor Parker said.

“South Africans and Australians have a lot in common: we both love rugby and we both value education. I hope by giving a young South African rugby player an opportunity to study in Australia we can strengthen the links between our nations.

“University of Canberra is proud of its professional education, applied research and community links in all areas, but especially in sport. Our partnership with the Brumbies is innovative and unlike any other sponsorship arrangement in professional sport, the mutual benefits are significant and the potential is huge.”

The Brumbies will soon relocate to the University of Canberra campus as part of a unique multimillion dollar ‘sports hub’.

Jake White, who is an adjunct professor with the University, welcomed the Scholarship.

“For many students, this scholarship will be 100 per cent life changing. UC has a proven track record of placing students in good jobs and it’s exciting to think that South Africans are now able to enjoy that system too,” he said.

“I’m constantly amazed at the amount of South Africans who ask me about how they can get their own children into the University of Canberra once they’ve finished school. Emails, phone calls and letters, you name it, people are contacting me saying that they want their children to be given the best education possible.

“It’s fantastic to be making the announcement of the Jake White Scholarship today and I look forward to seeing plenty of South African students take on the challenge of living and studying in Canberra in the future.”

About the scholarship

Selection will be based on a written statement which outlines the applicant’s academic and sporting achievements.
The scholarship includes

• A fully funded full-time degree at the University of Canberra (up to a maximum of three years).
• A one-off reimbursement of $1,500 to assist with relocation costs.
• Subsidised on campus accommodation at the University of Canberra
• Access to internship opportunities with Brumbies Rugby. (of at least 10 hours per week during semester)

Clyde Rathbone is tackled by Gareth Clouston of the ACT XV, during the Super Rugby trial match on February 8. Photo: Getty Images

The former Wallabies flyer will run out on the wing for the Brumbies against the Queensland Reds at Canberra Stadium on Saturday night and coach Jake White hopes it sparks a return to the club’s glory days.

It will also bring up Rathbone’s 50th cap for the Australian province.

Before and after pictures of Clyde Rathbone, as he worked his way from depression back to peak fitness.

A chronic knee injury forced him to retire in 2009, but a call from White last year prompted an improbable return to the team he won a championship with in 2004.

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White knew Rathbone from when the pair teamed up as captain and coach of South Africa to win the 2002 under-21 World Cup.

Rathbone battled depression and weight issues in his time away from the game.

Clyde Rathbone celebrates victory with the Cook Cup during a match between the Wallabies and England in 2004. Photo: Getty Images

But he’s impressed in two trial games, scoring three tries.

He has gradually built up his game time and was confident he can play the full 80 minutes.

The 31-year-old was both nervous and excited about playing, but ‘‘more excited’’.

‘‘It’s a pretty big occasion, just in the context of the last couple of years,’’ he said.

‘‘This game has been on the radar for a while and has been a focus of mine to get back for this.

‘‘And in the context of our season it’s pretty important.

‘‘Personally it’s going to be a big occasion, but I think for us as a group leading into the rest of the year this is a massive game.’’

Rathbone has been flooded with messages of support since announcing his comeback and was grateful for the support.

He said his mental-health issues meant he rated the success of his comeback in terms of his enjoyment of the game – the usual measures of games played and tries scored were no longer relevant.

But the South African product still wanted to play every game.

‘‘Saturday’s important for a lot of reasons, but at the end of the day it’s just a game of rugby and that’s allowed me to train better and prepare better and not worry about games, and be excited and stimulated by them and not frantic or anxious about them,’’ Rathbone said.

‘‘Because whatever happens on Saturday, good or bad, I’m still going to make sure I enjoy Sunday, that’s what’s important.’’

It hasn’t all been smooth sailing for Rathbone, who’s had to overcome hamstring and ankle problems during the pre-season, but he’s forced his way into White’s thinking regardless.

The Brumbies camp has repeatedly said the 26-time Wallaby has come back fitter, faster and stronger than in his glory days.

And White was hoping Rathbone’s return for his landmark game, along with a mouth-watering clash against the Reds, will prompt a big crowd at Canberra Stadium.

‘‘I think [Rathbone’s] done enough to select himself … one thing I’m looking for is an old player coming back hopefully to old ways in Canberra where there’s 20,000 supporters,’’ White said.

‘‘In a lot of ways we’re really getting the hype up and hoping that we can challenge the supporters in Canberra and see if we can get back to those old days.’’

White said Rathbone was a ‘‘winner’’ and brought that mentality with him.

It was one of the reason’s he made the call to Rathbone last February to tempt him out of retirement.

‘‘The fairytale story that he’s had to endure of retiring and depression, and it wasn’t done on a sentimental issue at all, it’s done on talent,’’ he said.

‘‘I think that he’s a winner … he won a junior world cup as the captain of the junior side I coached, and I think again that he is a winner.

‘‘And I’m hoping that sort of influence, both off the field and on the field, is going to be something that’s needed this year in terms of taking our team to be winners.’’

Rathbone has locked in one spot against the Reds, leaving Joe Tomane and Henry Speight to fight it out for the other.

New Zealand have fallen in the final of the Las Vegas Sevens rugby tournament, but have still managed to increase their lead in the world series points table.

Date

February 11, 2013 – 11:39AM

Chris Dry of South Africa is tackled by Warwick Lahmert in New Zealand in the Cup final. Photo: AP

New Zealand have fallen in the final of the Las Vegas Sevens rugby tournament, but have still managed to increase their lead in the world series points table.

After being taken to extra time in their semi-final, the All Blacks Sevens were beaten 40-21 by South Africa in the title decider.

The South Africans effectively had the match won by halftime, up 28-0 through two tries to Chris Dry and one each to Warren Whiteley and Branco du Preez.

It was the second year in a row that New Zealand have lost the Las Vegas final, after going down to Samoa last February.

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Despite the defeat, the defending world series champions extended their lead in the standings by two points to 23, with South Africa taking over second spot and Samoa third.

The open nature of this season’s competition is shown by the fact that the five rounds so far have had five different winners.

There are four rounds to go, the next being the glamour Hong Kong event on March 22-24.

Meanwhile, Australia crashed out of contention for the main prize, but claimed the Shield with a 41-0 win over Uruguay.

The Australians found themselves contesting the Shield in the fifth round of sevens world series after leaving the pool stage with just one win from three and falling to England in the Bowl quarter-final.

Coach Michael O’Connor said inexperience and a lack of mental toughness cost his team.

“I’m bitterly disappointed, I’m not happy,” O’Connor said.

“We’re a young squad and we find it difficult to get mentally to where is needed. We have to get tougher mentally. You need mental toughness to tackle that second tournament.”

by:Jim Morton

From:AAP

January 30, 2013 3:29pm

Jake White says the Brumbies will suffer most if Robbie Deans gets his way and players are plucked early for a Wallabies training camp. Picture: Kym SmithSource: The Daily Telegraph

White has joined his Queensland and NSW counterparts – Ewen McKenzie and Michael Cheika – in opposing Robbie Deans’ wish to put his Test squad into an extended three-week camp before the British and Irish Lions series in June.

But the former South Africa coach believes it’s the Brumbies who will pay the biggest price if the ARU decide to quarantine Test players, even though he expects the Reds and Waratahs to have more chosen.

The Brumbies are scheduled to meet the Melbourne Rebels on June 7 in Canberra – 15 days before the first Wallabies-Lions Test – in their second last fixture match and desperately want the likes of David Pocock, Stephen Moore, Ben Alexander and Pat McCabe available.
The same weekend, NSW play the Western Force in Perth while Queensland, who have a Super bye, host the Lions at Suncorp Stadium.

Still tormented by missing last season’s finals by one point following a last-round upset loss to the Blues, White said every competition point would be hugely important to his team’s play-off hopes that late in the competition.

“Last year in the last round our whole season changed so I find it highly unlikely that in the last rounds this year that the expectations from anybody would not be to play your best teams,” he told AAP.

“We’re all happy to help (the Wallabies) but it’s making sure everyone wins. We can’t have this situation.”
McKenzie has said he’d be prepared to compromise by allowing Test players to start their camp on June 2 in the hope they’d be released towards the end of the week to play that weekend.

But that would not appease 2007 World Cup winner White who feels he needs his young, improving side together for a full week to prepare for their clash with the Rebels.

“Ewen is in a different situation because he’s talking about a Lions (tour) game and he also has a very settled team,” he said.

“It makes no difference if one guy (Quade Cooper) boxes one Saturday and plays the next Saturday – there’s not many teams who can afford that.

“The Waratahs have a Wallaby pack of forwards who play together every Saturday – if it’s not for the Waratahs it’s for the Wallabies.

“We’re in a very different situation.

“We can’t afford to lose four guys or five guys and then by Saturday they’re back to play.”

The Brumbies provided eight of 49 players to a Wallabies logistics camp this month and they have no issue with resting Test players from their Lions tour clash on June 18.

White confirmed Pocock would make his Brumbies debut this Friday night against his old Force teammates in a Darwin trial.

Former Wallabies winger Clyde Rathbone will also make his comeback, playing at centre outside playmakers Matt Toomua and Christian Lealiifano who will trial at 10 and 12 with McCabe (neck) sidelined until round four.

For two days the world waited for Andrew Hore, Steve Hansen, Richie McCaw, Steve Tew or even the bloke who carries the bags to apologise for the All Black hooker’s unprovoked assault on Bradley Davies.

Instead, New Zealand rugby appeared stuck on an endless loop of John Cage’s soundless epic. At the time of writing there had not been a solitary public note of regret.

Many good men and women in this country are ashamed of this craven refusal to say sorry, but they should not be surprised.

When Adam Thomson took it upon himself to stand on Scotland’s Alasdair Strokosch’s head, All Blacks rugby reached for the euphemism.

The old melon, the bonce and the noggin had all got a bit of a scrape but there was apparently no malice in Thomson’s calculated decision to stamp on another human being’s skull.

“What Hore did has got no place on a rugby field as far as I’m concerned, it was an absolute disgrace” … Wales attack coach Rob Howley on Andrew Hore’s attack on Bradley Davies. Photo: Getty Images

The real villain of the piece was a Welsh rugby writer called Stephen Jones and the real victim was New Zealand rugby, which again was the unfortunate casualty of a media beat-up.

You do wonder if New Zealand rugby will ever learn how decent society behaves. When Dean Greyling disgracefully assaulted McCaw, the Springboks leadership reacted immediately. Coach Heyneke Meyer publicly called the attack “unacceptable” and said: “I want to apologise to Richie McCaw.” Captain Jean de Villiers said: “We’ll never condone playing dirty” and promised to take action.

But all we have had out of Hansen so far is evasion. Initially Hansen wasn’t sure if Hore “clocked him but he certainly hooked him out”.

A little later he said: “It looked like he was trying to clean out the Welshman in front of him It’s unfortunate that it’s happened.” Then Hansen said: “I am just resigned to the fact that he will probably get cited . . . think they think we’re thugs or something but we don’t play differently to anyone else.”

We should be thankful that Hansen is no longer a policeman. He would have presumably let Charles Manson off with a caution.

The All Blacks coach, like many of his predecessors, clearly suffers from Arsene Wenger syndrome, an unfortunate irritation of the optic nerve that causes temporary blindness when watching your own team.

The world accepts that rugby has always had its thugs. Martin Johnson and Danny Grewcock got up to some revolting things on a rugby pitch and many of the English press excoriated those men and their actions. But the world does not accept the code of silence that has pervaded the All Blacks and a supine part of their media for far too long.

Many years ago Cyril Brownlie became the first man to be sent off in a rugby match.

The Welsh referee was considered the finest in the world and he had already issued three general warnings. He then saw Brownlie stamp on an opposition player’s leg off the ball and he sent him from the pitch.

The All Blacks manager of the time said the referee had “made a mistake” and “a grave injustice has been done to Brownlie”, an occurrence that “could not help the spirit of imperialism”.

New Zealand papers whinged about the sending-off then and they are still crying about it now. True to future form, Brownlie has somehow become the victim of his own violent action.

It is this reaction that continues to gall the rest of the world. The recent list of All Blacks shame is a long one – the Canterbury front row deliberately beating up the 71 Lions, John Ashworth tearing open JPR’s face with a double stamp, Richard Loe’s assault on Paul Carozza, Jamie Joseph wrecking Kyran Bracken’s ankle, Keven Mealamu and Tana Umaga smashing Brian O’Driscoll’s shoulder.

These acts are bad enough, and other nations have similar shameful incidents in their rugby history, but what really grates is the consistent lack of a full and proper apology.

Steve Hansen talks of taking ownership, but when has New Zealand rugby ever taken ownership of these acts of violence? These players are national folk heroes just like Colin Meads, the daddy of them all.

The national exculpation of Mealamu and Umaga was a disgrace that still angers many people in Britain and other parts of the rugby world. It was an assault that came desperately close to breaking a decent man’s neck.

And yet many in the New Zealand rugby community portrayed the All Blacks as the victims of an hysterical over-reaction by the British media.

If there was any hysteria, it was caused by shock at New Zealand’s collective failure to say sorry for what constituted common assault.

Good on the many callers in to talkback radio who have condemned Hore’s attack on Davies, but the delay in a similar condemnation from either the All Blacks management or the NZRU shows how out of touch these people still are.

The nation may be growing up, but New Zealand rugby is still behaving like the child who won’t own up.

How glorious it would be if Tew, Hansen, McCaw and Hore faced the world’s media and apologised to Bradley Davies.

How glorious it would be if Joseph was told to strip Hore of the captaincy of the Highlanders.

How glorious it would be if the law in this country decided to prosecute rugby players for assault.

Is that really all so far fetched? Together we could make it happen.

Fairfax NZ News

Poll: Have the All Blacks shown enough contrition for Andrew Hore’s hit?

Boks sweating over star wing

Seasoned Springbok wing JP Pietersen has a mild groin strain and is doubtful for South Africa’s final tour match, against England at Twickenham on Saturday. Bok team doctor Craig Roberts said the 2007 World Cup winner and 2012 SA Players’ Player of the Year will be “medically managed” this week, after he sat out training on Monday.

Bok lock cited for ‘eye-gouging’

South Africa lock Eben Etzebeth has been cited for making contact with the “eye or eye area” of Scotland flyhalf Greig Laidlaw, the International Rugby Board announced Monday. The alleged incident occurred 14 minutes into the second half of the Springboks’ 21-10 victory over Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday. He was cited by Alan Mansell of England. Etzebeth, 21, will appear before an IRB disciplinary hearing on Tuesday and if found guilty faces a lengthy ban – which could include the Springboks’ Test against England at Twickenham this coming Saturday.

Cooper walk-out rocks Wallabies

Controversial Wallaby flyhalf Quade Cooper has reportedly dropped a major bomb by walking out on Australian rugby. According to Channel Nine news the injured No.10 has turned his back on the Australian Rugby Union and the Wallabies and will look to continue his career overseas or switch to Rugby League. Cooper has a Super Rugby contract with Queensland, but according to the Channel Nine report that agreement is contingent upon a contract with the game’s governing body.

Marler set to miss Bok clash

England prop Joe Marler is set to miss Saturday’s Test against the Springboks after suffering a knee injury in last weekend’s loss to Australia. The Harlequins loosehead sustained a grade one medial collateral ligament tear during England’s 20-14 home defeat and is expected to be replaced by Alex Corbisiero. Coach Stuart Lancaster hinted that the injury-enforced change won’t be the only alteration to the team for the important match against South Africa. “We will potentially freshen things up with one or two changes. We have players on the return – Alex played 75 minutes yesterday and Jonathan Joseph played,” Lancaster said. Source

Under pressure … the respective coaches, Robbie Deans and Heyneke Meyer, enter this encounter with critics banging at the door.

Date

September 7, 2012

Paul Cully

Photo: John Selkirk

Those old enough to have grey hairs will have allowed themselves a wry grin at some of the commentary emerging from South Africa this week.

Some malcontents suggested a new playing style was required to match it with the All Blacks, and that a re-evaluation of the traditional Springboks strengths was required. It’s the sort of complaint that surfaces when the South Africans fail to crush an opponent through sheer physicality, as was the case in the draw with Argentina.

It won’t happen. There may be tweaks but South Africa’s gloriously physical style will be the same in a decade as it is now. Their under-20 side, even with the likes of outstanding prospect Jan Serfontein in the midfield, won the Junior World Championship final against New Zealand this year using four familiar bludgeons: the lineout drive, the scrum, heavy collisions and a superior kicking game. The Springboks side that takes to the field in Perth tomorrow night will not be a great one, but at least their foundations will be solid.

The respective coaches, Robbie Deans and Heyneke Meyer, enter this encounter with critics banging at the door. This is as common in coaching as selecting but Deans’s situation is evidently perilous and there is no mystery behind it.

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His side, in one real sense, has been going backwards for months. The Wallabies have spent progressively less time in the opposition 22 in every game this year, starting with the Scotland debacle in June. The figure fell to about 25 per cent in first Test against Wales, had dropped to 13 per cent by the third Test of that series in Sydney and stood a touch above 10 per cent in Auckland two weeks ago.

Accordingly, tinkering with the line-ups over the past three weeks has given the appearance of charging at windmills. New men have come and gone to little effect. At least the forwards can say they were simply outgunned. The lightweights behind them have underperformed.

The prevailing winds have also been against the New Zealander all year. Australian Super Rugby sides won a miserable 24 per cent of their games against South African opposition this year. The Reds, who make up almost half of the 22 to face the Springboks, succeeded in one match from five. The only team to avoid a losing record (the Brumbies, 2-2) were coached by a South African. The school of thought – recently voiced by a former coach from the analog age – that Australia is sitting on a group of players who would conquer the world if they were not being so egregiously mismanaged interprets the situation too simply.

Yet this week’s XV at least gives the appearance of an improvement. Adam Ashley-Cooper at No.13 is a threat to the wonderful but declining Jean de Villiers and powerful but medium-paced Francois Steyn. Dom Shipperley is a desperately needed finisher because despite all his outstanding work, Digby Ioane’s strike rate is nine tries from 27 Tests.

When the Argentinians got in behind the Springboks’ defence two weeks ago, their lack of speed was palpable. Yet adventure – absent from the Wallabies this year – is first required to achieve it. The first four Argentina passes in the move that provided their try were all offloads in contact, from a counter-attacking situation. The blueprint could not be any clearer.

Problematically, South Africa have also emerged stronger from deliberations at the selection table.

The key switch is the removal of Francois Hougaard from the base of the ruck – where his clearances were substandard against Argentina – to the wing, with Ruan Pienaar taking over at No.9.

Pienaar is a confidence player but that commodity is high since playing an instrumental role in leading his Irish province, Ulster, to the Heineken Cup final.

In the pack, Andries Bekker was unrecognisably poor in Argentina, third best in every two-man collision, and makes way for the sterner Juandre Kruger. And Willem Alberts returns to his best position, at blindside, instead of Jacques Potgieter, who was repeatedly cut in half on the gainline by the low-tackling Pumas.

There should be concern about Hougaard’s role on the flank, which will undoubtedly contain a roving component. If the big Springboks ball runners start to rumble through the 10-12 channel, Hougaard’s eye for a gap and acceleration in the following phases will be a huge issue for Australia.

Both these sides are weaker than the outfits that contested the World Cup finals, but the result is no less in the balance.

SPRINGBOKS supporters still wince when reminded of it, but South African coaching staff will not be using the horrid memories of last year’s World Cup exit to motivate their team against the Wallabies.

Chief Rugby Correspondent

The Wallabies’ 11-9 triumph over the Springboks in the quarter-final in Wellington in October caused uproar in South Africa, with New Zealand referee Bryce Lawrence becoming the country’s public enemy No.1 after several dubious decisions went Australia’s way. The then Springboks coach Peter de Villiers was scathing, basically blaming Lawrence for his team’s departure from the tournament.

However, de Villiers’ successor, Heyneke Meyer, has no interest in reliving that game, believing it has no relevance to the Perth Test on Saturday night. That might have a lot to do with only four Springboks who played in Wellington remaining in the starting line-up.

”I am not a guy who lives in the past,” Meyer said when announcing his Test line-up. ”There’s only Jannie [du Plessis] left from that World Cup forward pack, so I can’t use it as a motivation. But I also don’t believe in negative motivation. I instead know where we have to go, and we want to be the best team in the world.

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”We are far from that yet. We have our own goals over the next four years, and that’s the focus – not what happened in previous games.”

Meyer made some unexpected selections, including moving halfback Francois Hougaard to the wing, and revamping his back row. He even conceded this could cause problems.

”One thing we don’t have in our back row, which is a little bit of a concern, is out-and-out pace,” Meyer said. ”But we make up for that by having a back row with a big work rate. Duane [Vermeulen] is not your typical No.8, but he is a very hard, grafting player, and gives you go-forward. What we lose in speed, we gain in muscle and intelligence.”

The Wallabies were not too bothered to hear Hougaard had been moved out wide last night, as they believe he is more dangerous closer to the ruck.

Meyer argued Hougaard out wide could be a match winner.

”He is a great player,” he said of the 24-year-old. ”It doesn’t matter where you pick him, he remains a game breaker. He will get more space on the wing.”

SPRINGBOKS World Cup-winning coach Jake White has called on the Wallabies forwards to dramatically lift their standards against South Africa tomorrow night, otherwise they will suffer their third straight humiliating Test loss.

“The real issue is the Wallabies forwards are not gaining any ascendancy at the gain line so the backs have no platform to launch attacking raids” … Jake White. Photo: Getty Images

The now Brumbies coach believes the Wallabies forwards’ inability to dominate the gain line battle has made it virtually impossible for the Australian attack to perform.

White is not hiding from these comments, instead giving the team a jarring rev-up for tomorrow night’s Perth Test, with revealing statistics that emphasise how impotent the Wallabies forwards were in the two Bledisloe Cup Tests.

White, who was involved in 11 internationals against the Wallabies while Springboks coach between 2004 and 2007, makes the telling point that Radike Samo made more metres in one international last year than the whole Wallabies pack combined in the Sydney and Auckland losses.

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”Some of the statistics from the recent Bledisloe Cup clashes are mind blowing,” White wrote. ”In two Tests the Wallabies forwards carried the ball just 80 metres (50 in Sydney then 30 in Auckland), while the All Blacks forwards carried for 225 metres – almost three times as much.

”Much criticism has been aimed at the Wallabies attack for failing to score a try in Auckland, but it may not be the backs’ fault. The real issue is the Wallabies forwards are not gaining any ascendancy at the gain line so the backs have no platform to launch attacking raids.

”The backs can be creative as they like, and the Wallabies back line is full of creative players, but without the time and space to execute their attack they were easily closed down by the All Blacks.

”There could be two reasons for this. Either the Wallabies, in their desperation to attack, are getting the ball to the backs too often or the forwards are being given the ball but can’t gain any ascendancy. The latter isn’t surprising as they are missing some of their best ball carriers.” This includes Wycliff Palu and James Horwill, who are both injured, while Tatafu Polota-Nau and Samo hasn’t started every Test.

”In one run last year against the All Blacks in Brisbane, Radike Samo carried the ball more than the entire Wallabies pack in the first two clashes this season. Whatever the cause, the Wallabies must go forward.”

White said the Springboks had ”the opposite problem”. Their forwards were carrying the ball too much, and so their attack ”is one dimensional, and, as we saw in Mendoza against Argentina, easily contained”. This is because Heyneke Meyer ”is using the Bulls game plan, based around forward power and gaining a physical edge over opponents”.

The Wallabies forward woes do not end there. Hooker Stephen Moore was yesterday ruled out due to a hamstring injury. As a result of the strain, Polota-Nau will return to the starting line-up, with Saia Faingaa moving onto the reserves bench.

At least tight-head prop Ben Alexander is prepared, explaining he was not distracted by all the speculation over the future of beleaguered coach Robbie Deans, whose position will be placed under greater scrutiny if they lose to the Springboks.

”We feel a responsibility for the side not performing, and our concern is that we play well for our country,” Alexander said. ”The criticism of Robbie hurts us too because its a reflection of us and how we didn’t do a great job representing our country [against the All Blacks].”

Meanwhile, Dan Carter’s Wellington jinx has continued after being ruled out of the All Blacks team to face Argentina tomorrow. Carter strained his left calf muscle at an indoor training session on Thursday morning and will be replaced in the starting No.10 jersey by Aaron Cruden.

Beauden Barrett, who has trained with the squad this week, will come onto the reserve bench.

WALKING WOUNDED: The Wallabies are missing several key players through injury. Skipper James Horwill won’t play again in 2012 after suffering a serious hamstring injury playing for the Reds. James O’Connor is also sidelined with a hamstring injury and will miss at least the first two Rugby Championship fixtures against New Zealand. Inside-centre Pat McCabe (leg) and loose forward Ben McCalman (shoulder) are also unavailable for Saturday’s clash, while destructive No.8 Wycliff Palu will miss the majority of the tournament with shoulder nerve damage. All Blacks outside-centre Conrad Smith is sidelined with an eye injury. Veteran lock Brad Thorn and outstanding flanker Jerome Kaino are the only other notable absentees from the World Cup winning squad having taken up lucrative deals in Japan.

WALKING WOUNDED: The Wallabies are missing several key players through injury. Skipper James Horwill won’t play again in 2012 after suffering a serious hamstring injury playing for the Reds. James O’Connor is also sidelined with a hamstring injury and will miss at least the first two Rugby Championship fixtures against New Zealand. Inside-centre Pat McCabe (leg) and loose forward Ben McCalman (shoulder) are also unavailable for Saturday’s clash, while destructive No.8 Wycliff Palu will miss the majority of the tournament with shoulder nerve damage. All Blacks outside-centre Conrad Smith is sidelined with an eye injury. Veteran lock Brad Thorn and outstanding flanker Jerome Kaino are the only other notable absentees from the World Cup winning squad having taken up lucrative deals in Japan.

FORM: The Wallabies rebounded from ‘that loss’ to Scotland in Newcastle with three narrow victories over Six Nations champions Wales. They were dominant in the opening Test in Brisbane, prevailing 27-19, but could have easily lost the Melbourne (25-23) and Sydney (20-19) fixtures. The All Blacks kept their undefeated record against Ireland in tact during their three-Test series in June. They did suffer one almighty scare in the second Test in Christchurch, but Dan Carter saved the day with a field goal at the death to clinch the series. They bookended the series with a 42-10 victory in Auckland and a 60-0 thrashing in Hamilton to send a message to their Rugby Championship rivals.

WHO’S HOT: Wallabies flyhalf Berrick Barnes made the most of his chance in the No.10 jumper in June, winning two man-of-the-match awards in the Wales series. Loose forward Scott Higginbotham was the pick of the forward pack while tighthead prop Sekope Kepu continues to improve with every match. All Blacks superstar Sonny Bill Williams was spectacular against Ireland and has two more chances to prove himself on the international stage before taking the cash in Japanese rugby en route to the Sydney Roosters. New scrumhalf Aaron Smith emerged as the next Kiwi superstar in the June series against Ireland, while Kieran Read and skipper Richie McCaw were also excellent.

WE THINK: The 20-6 scoreline in the Rugby World Cup semi-final flattered the Wallabies. It was much more one-sided than that. Robbie Deans’ men have won two of their past four clashes against the Kiwis, but the semi-final result highlighted the massive gulf in class and it’s hard to see how that gap has closed in 10 months. To make matters worse for the Wallabies, they are missing several key personnel through injury while the tourists ar

TEAMS:e close to full strength. The All Blacks won the last two meetings at ANZ Stadium by a point and Sydney typically produces tight and physical affairs. The venue might help narrow the margin but it won’t be enough to reverse the result. All Blacks by 10.

Some interesting trends have emerged as we continue our statistics-based feature of the leading candidates for the Springbok No.10 jersey.

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 12:09

Sharks star Patrick Lambie did not play this past weekend (again), so we still have no stats to compare him with the other flyhalf candidates – incumbent Morné Steyn, Stormers pivot Peter Grant and Lions No.10 Elton Jantjies.

This past weekend the Bulls got hammered in Durban, the Stormers couldn’t score tries in the rain in Bloemfontein and the Lions entertained with a rare win in Johannesburg.

However, that has done nothing to change the perceptions many pundits have of strengths and weaknesses of the trio.

The facts, or stats, continue to tell a story of their own.

For one, Steyn and Jantjies both got more distance with their kicks out of hand at the coast than Grant did away from the coast, where the ball is meant to travel that much further.

The other perception is about Grant’s brilliant play – how well he ‘takes the ball to the line’ and creates opportunities. Yet, the Stormers’ only try this past weekend came from a Grant chip-kick (which does say something for his decision-making, of course).

And Jantjies has not had a single ‘try assist’ since we started monitoring these stats. Those assists came from players like Michael Bondesio, Anthonie Volminck and Lionel Mapoe.

We will let the numbers speak for themselves – again:

Morné Steyn (Bulls):

He is the Bok incumbent, has played 37 Tests and has 103 Super Rugby caps.

Played 59 minutes in the 40-24 demolition of the Cheetahs and the Bulls had a 40-0 lead when he left the field.
* Goal-kick success rate: 83.3 percent – five from six conversions.
* He received the ball 24 times – kicked nine times (for 401 metres gained – average distance of 44.5 metres per kick), passed 14 times, ran once and had one try-assist.
* He made five tackles and missed none.

Played 77 minutes in the 10-32 loss to the Sharks
* Goal-kick success rate: 100 percent – two from two (one conversion and one penalty)
* He received the ball 29 times – kicked six times (for 217 metres gained – average distance of 36.16 metres per kick), passed 21 times, ran twice and had no try-assist.
* He made five tackles and missed two.

Total:
* Goal-kick success rate: 88 percent – seven from eight
* He received the ball 53 times – kicked 15 times (for 618 metres gained – average distance of 41.2 metres per kick), passed 35 times, ran three and had one try-assist.
* He made 10 tackles and missed three.

Peter Grant (Stormers):

He has five Test caps, but has not played in Green & Gold since 2008. He has 83 Super Rugby caps.

He played all 80 minutes in the 27-17 win over the Lions.
* Goal-kick success rate: 100 percent – three from three conversion and two from two penalty goals.
* He received the ball 39 times – kicked twice (for 51 metres gained – average of 25.5 metres per kick), passed 32 times, ran five times and had one try-assist.
* He made eight tackles and missed two.

Played 80 minutes in the 13-6 win over the Cheetahs
* Goal-kick success rate: 100 percent – three from three (one conversion and two penalties)
* He received the ball 41 times – kicked 19 times (for 623 metres gained – average distance of 32.78 metres per kick), passed 15 times, ran seven and had one try-assist.
* He made seven tackles and missed one.

Total:
* Goal-kick success rate: 100 percent – six from six
* He received the ball 80 times – kicked 21 times (for 674 metres gained – average distance of 32.09 metres per kick), passed 47 times, ran 12 and had two try-assists.
* He made 15 tackles and missed three.

Elton Jantjies (Lions):

He was a Springbok tourist for the year-end tour of Britain and Ireland in 2010 and also a member of the Bok squad for the series against England in 2012, but has yet to play a Test. He has 23 Super Rugby caps.

He played all 80 minutes of the Lions’ 17-27 loss to the Stormers.
* Goal-kick success rate: 75 percent – two from two conversions and one from two penalties.
* He received the ball 40 times – kicked eight times (for 258 metres gained – average of 32.25 metres per kick), passed 27 times, ran five times and had no try assists.
* He made 10 tackles and missed just one.

Played 80 minutes in the 37-32 win over the Rebels
* Goal-kick success rate: 100 percent – seven from seven (four conversions and three penalties)
* He received the ball 34 times – kicked 12 times (for 492 metres gained – average distance of 41 metres per kick), passed 17 times, ran five and had no try-assist.
* He made eight tackles and missed three.

Baby Blacks hooker Nathan Harris has revealed he is the player being investigated for rape by South African police, and vowing he is innocent.

June 28, 2012 – 11:35AM

Nathan Harris.

The Bay of Plenty-based 20-year-old released a statement today, saying he was doing so to prevent a cloud of suspicion falling on all his teammates.

“I am making this statement today so everyone knows that I am the player at the centre of this issue. There is no one else involved.

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“I want to say very strongly that I am innocent of the allegation made against me. However, I should not have allowed a woman to enter my room. This was against team rules.

A 22-year-old woman filed a complaint with police in South Africa, alleging the player had raped her in the weekend.

The New Zealand Rugby Union confirmed earlier this week that player had been with a 22-year-old woman during the night just hours after his team lost junior world championship final to South Africa.

Although the woman had made the allegation, her statement was that she could not remember anything about the incident, including who the person involved was, according to information the NZRU had received from South African police.

Harris said he was proud to have the opportunity to represent his country and knew he let the team and his family down by inviting the woman back to his room.

“For that I am truly sorry and I want to apologise to my team mates, team management and to all the parents and friends who supported our team, but especially to my family for the distress this has caused them all.

“The past five days have been a very stressful and painful time for me and my family. I have learnt a lot and now I am hoping for a good outcome so I can get on with my life.

“I have been advised that with a police investigation underway I am unable to comment further.”

NZRU chief executive Steve Tew said earlier this week that there was a possibility that Harris could return to South Africa to help with investigations.

The team had co-operated with South African police following the complaint and had flown back to New Zealand as scheduled.

Harris had been drinking on the night in question, but not excessively, and had broken the ‘no women on floor’ policy that applied to all national rugby teams, including the All Blacks, Tew said.

He did not rule out disciplinary action against Harris for breaking the “no woman on floor” policy.

HAMILTON: All Blacks matchwinner Dan Carter is out of Saturday’s third Test against Ireland in a revamped side that also features Richie McCaw moving to the backrow.

June 21, 2012 – 7:26AM

The world’s best five-eighth … Dan Carter. Photo: Getty Images

There are six changes to the starting XV as coach Steve Hansen covers for injuries and to shore up holes exposed in the tense 22-19 second Test victory in Christchurch last weekend.

Carter, the team playmaker who won the match with a last minute drop goal, suffered a hamstring injury in training during the week while number eight Kieran Read has been sidelined by concussion.

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First Test hero Julian Savea and fellow wing Zac Guildford have been replaced by Hosea Gear and Ben Smith, while lock Brodie Retallick and side rower Adam Thomson drop to the bench.

Luke Romano will make his Test debut in the second row and uncapped fly-half Beauden Barrett comes into the reserves with Aaron Cruden starting in place of Carter in the pivot role.

Hansen said Carter had suffered a mild strain, but it was enough to keep him sidelined, while most of the other changes were fallout from the high-pressure second Test.

“The All Blacks, by their own admission, weren’t happy with the way they performed on Saturday, and in part this is a credit to the way the Irish played.

“They have laid down a challenge and the key will be now how we respond. We will have to ensure our preparation is spot on this week so we can get the performance we need on Saturday.”

McCaw, who will be starting for the 100th time in his illustrious 105-Test career, has always worn the number seven jersey but moves to the backrow for the first time in an injury enforced shake-up of the loose forwards.

Liam Messam who is probably more accustomed to the number eight role will start on the side of the scrum with his Waikato Chiefs’ teammate Sam Cane.

The inclusion of Cruden at fly-half restores another partnership from the Super 15 leading Chiefs with Sonny Bill Williams beside him at inside centre.

Long-serving hooker Keven Mealamu returns from injury and is on the bench. along with Tamati Ellison, whose one previous Test was in 2009, providing cover for the outside backs.

Romano gets his start following second-Test wobbles in an All Blacks’ scrum that has been down on power in the second row following the retirement of Brad Thorn after last year’s World Cup.

Springbok tighthead Jannie du Plessis has hailed new scrum coach Pieter de Villiers as the key to South Africa’s strong performance up front last week.

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 15:17

The Boks put in a solid showing at scrum-time against a physical England pack on their way to victory in the first Test in Durban, and Du Plessis said that he expects another fierce test in Johannesburg on Saturday.

“Both teams were very physical and I think it is massive for this week’s game to stay physical and play good rugby,” he said.

Former French international front row star De Villiers only had one week with the Boks ahead of the first Test, but Du Plessis said that he made some vital technical adjustments in that time which paid off at Kings Park.

He commented: “We have a new coach in Pieter de Villiers who has really brought in some new ideas and exercises that made a massive difference.

“It is one of the foundations of getting good go-forward ball so there is always a lot of emphasis on scrummaging, but it is nice to work with people that make a point of talking about it.

“He brought us technical exercises, a few fitness drills and other ways to put your feet. All those things make a big difference at the end of the day.”

The 29-year-old prop had an impressive match in front of his home crowd, getting involved in some loose play as well as the tight exchanges, but he was quick to point to the collective contribution of his teammates.

“It doesn’t always happen like that because you play against opposition who are the best in their country.

“I guess that is why it is called Test rugby – it really does test you and maybe it was lucky for me I got seen a bit more on the weekend.

“All the eight guys played brilliant rugby in the pack and also in the backs, so I wouldn’t say it was my best game – I would say it was a great team performance,” he said.

In Jake White’s own words, his “no-name” Brumbies have been lumped with a huge challenge to take down the second-best side that Six Nations champions Wales can muster in their mid-week tour match on Tuesday.

But the Brumbies coach insists his squad have made a habit of performing beyond the merits of their CVs this Super Rugby season and are confident they can keep Wales winless two games into their Australian visit.

Five days out from their second Test against the Wallabies, Wales have named a second-tier outfit to take on White’s Brumbies, with lock Luke Charteris the only starting player to back up from their 27-19 first Test loss.

Two others, hooker Ken Owens and five-eighth Rhys Priestland, will start from the bench.

But White maintains there’s plenty to be wary of in the Welsh squad, particularly up against a Brumbies’ side light on Super Rugby experience, let alone international caps.

“Take a look at the records and the Test caps they’ve got,” White said on Monday.

“(Five-eighth James) Hook has got over 60 Test caps, you know, and their lock pairing have got over 100 Test caps, so if you compare that to what we have … we’ve got a relatively young and inexperienced team.

“But that’s nothing that we’re not used to.

“We started the campaign playing the (Western) Force on the first weekend and they had six Wallabies in their pack and we had a bunch of no-name brands (the Brumbies won 19-17).

“So it might be a big ask, but (we’re calling on these young players) to step up to the plate and take a chance.”

With eight Brumbies on Wallabies duty, the Wales game looms as a golden opportunity for some of the youngsters to make their presence felt, with three making their run-on debuts for the year and another six making game debuts.

The game also gives White an opportunity to test combinations out, particularly Andrew Smith and Tevita Kuridrani in the centres.

The Brumbies will have to re-jig their backline when they return to the Super Rugby season against the Force in Perth on June 30, after regular winger Joe Tomane went down with an ankle injury while training with the Wallabies.

“They’re a little bit like Pat McCabe and Anthony Faingaa in terms of the way they play, so it’ll be interesting to see how that combination comes off,” White said.

“It gives us a chance to see what Andrew Smith can do at No.12.”

Caretaker Wales coach Rob Howley is meanwhile hopeful a desperate performance from the mid-week side will boot Wales’ Australian tour back into action.

“The mid-week side becomes very important in terms of attitude and this group were out training at 9am the morning after the first Test,” he told PA.

“Some of the boys are backing up (the main squad) but we are confident in our fitness and where we are with this team because they’ve already had a game against the Barbarians.”

The tour match kicks off at 7.30pm (AEST) at Canberra Stadium on Tuesday.

A tough tour suddenly got a whole lot tougher. This was the game England had to win because South Africa were undercooked and because England had to build on the momentum and confidence gained from the Six Nations. But it did not go to plan. Not remotely.

Paul Ackford at Kings Park, Durban

June 11, 2012 – 12:39PM

England lost the collisions against the Springboks. Photo: Getty Images

The stark conclusions from what was a very ordinary Test match were that England still lack an attack that is capable of unlocking defences, even one as pedestrian as South Africa’s, and that they lack forwards who can mix it with the Bok pack.

It was reasonably close in the end thanks to a smartly taken try by Ben Foden but in the third quarter, when South Africa finally got their big men smashing forward, England were beaten in the collisions, beaten for territory, beaten for possession.

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The result means that the Boks have won eight straight games against English opposition. With two Tests to come, there is every chance of that number reaching a damaging double figures.

It does not help England’s cause that South Africa took an age to find themselves in their first Test under Heyneke Meyer. Apart from Bryan Habana, still one the game’s great entertainers, and the impressive wrecking ball that is Willem Alberts, there was not much to get excited about from a Springbok point of view.

Indeed, for most of the first half, England were very much in the game. But when it mattered, when the screw needed to be turned, it was South Africa who raised the intensity and scored a brace of tries, through Morne Steyn and skipper Jean de Villiers, which swung the game their way. Although England battled back gamely, they were effectively out of contention on the hour mark, bit-part players in an unedifying spectacle.

It was good that the contest had a bit of excitement late on because the first half was wretched. On second thoughts, it was worse than that. Professionals playing Test-match rugby are under no obligation to entertain the paying public, but you would think there might be some desire to make the best of themselves.

The Springboks did not get close. They had the excuse of a new side coming together after a couple of training sessions but there was no subtlety, no imagination, nothing remotely resembling a cohesive, fluent idea of how to play the game.

By far the most dispiriting element was the time they took to organise themselves at the back of a static breakdown. As the clock ticked interminably on, Francois Hougaard pulled forwards this way and that to provide cover and time for him to box-kick, yet the scrum-half was so poor at this skill that on one occasion, even after an age had passed, Tom Johnson managed to charge down the clearance.

At least England showed some ingenuity in the first half, though it flared briefly and most often when Owen Farrell was not involved. His kicking game, like Ben Young’s inside him, was ill-judged. The kicks were too long, allowing the Bok catcher time to gather and reply with interest.

But Farrell’s unsympathetic passing hurt England most. When they did find space and momentum, which was not often, Farrell either fired the pass too hard or flung the ball hopefully behind a gaggle of would-be receivers. There are many outstanding qualities to Farrell, not least his temperament, but over the past few games he has struggled to get his back line going.

The half finished with England tied with South Africa 6-6, Morne Steyn and Farrell having banged over two penalties each. Manu Tuilagi was England’s most dangerous attacker, attracting two or more defenders to haul him down, and there was a fine run from Chris Ashton that required the fleet-footed Hougaard to pull him to ground.

Apart from those incidents, England were left to admire the roughhouse debut of Johnson, who tried to match the Bok in contact, and the general resolve of his team-mates.

The match slipped away from England early in the second half. There had been signs of growing South African authority. Alberts was always a handful, Bismarck du Plessis was finding outside shoulders and Habana was needle sharp.

Strangely, though, the pedestrian Morne Steyn opened South Africa’s account after Habana and De Villiers had counter-attacked and Alberts and Jannie du Plessis had thumped up the middle. When de Villiers added South Africa’s second 12 minutes later, flying horizontally through the final English defender, England’s goose was properly cooked.

England’s main concern after that was to limit the damage, which they achieved with Foden’s late try but this was a side running on empty and with problems increasing in seriousness.

If Johnson had a debut to be proud of, there was less to cheer about from Joe Marler, who was not helped by referee Steve Walsh’s fussing about the engagement sequence at scrum-time. At least Marler will be consoled with the fact that England’s scrummaging deteriorated after he was replaced.

Yet it is not the calibre of individuals that will perturb coach Stuart Lancaster as he seeks to unsettle the Boks in Johannesburg. There was no lack of effort from England, no lack of collective resolve. All that was fine. It was the mechanics that deserted them. They still find it difficult to progress in midfield.

It seemed that Ben Youngs was playing a game alien to the one that is so successful for him in Leicester colours, and that Farrell is not yet mature nor skilful enough to orchestrate a Test attack, especially when paired with Brad Barritt. Lancaster and Mike Catt, newly installed as England’s attack coach, need new personnel and new ideas if England are to stop the Boks wrapping up the series this Saturday.

Mind you, they are not alone. Yesterday was disastrous for the reputation of northern hemisphere rugby as Ireland, then Wales, then England fell to New Zealand, Australia and South Africa respectively.

The one northern hemisphere success of the week? Scotland, the wooden spooners of the Six Nations, against the Wallabies last Tuesday.

Heyneke Meyer took some time off from preparing the Boks for the first Test against England to answer your questions sent in to him by readers of BOKzine.

June 07, 2012

Heyneke Meyer took some time off from preparing the Boks for the first Test against England to answer your questions sent in to him by readers of BOKzine.

Your Question: The Bulls defence is suspect, Bob showed it during Boots and All Thursday night 31-05-2012. The record also proves it. Why do you not employ the Stormers defence coach? He has made the Stormers the best defencive side in the Super 15? – Owen Hughes

Heyneke answers: That is a good question Owen. I won’t say the Bulls’ defence is suspect, in some of their tour games they rather made individual errors which allowed tries to be scored. I have a lot of respect for Jacques Nienaber and we’ll look at getting him involved in some role in future, but we’ve gone with John McFarland as him and I have been working together for years. He also does more than just defence and is very involved in our kicking game as well as helping the hookers with their throwing, being a former hooker himself.

Your Question: Howzit going boet? I am really a massive fan In fact my spare room has every scarf, hat towel, flag, big springbok and little springbok I have all the rugby balls dude from BOKKIE to world cup, I’ve been to all the Scotland and South African games…. I was wondering what are the chances of getting a signed card or something from the BOKKE. thank you. – Trevor Conradie

Heyneke answers: It’s always nice to hear from someone who is a passionate Bok fan, thanks Trevor. I’ll have to speak to the relevant people to see what they can come up with. All the best!

Your Question: Heyneke, What I would like to know is if you could name ANY former Springbok to the team for this series, not as a way to add depth, but in terms of the effect you feel the given player has on a squad as a whole, who would it be? Please consider more than just the players who retired from Test rugby recently. – AJ White

Heyneke answers: I’m really happy with my squad and I know the guys can do the job for us. Now that the team has been named, it would really be unfair of me to single out any specific player from days gone by, I’m sure you understand. We considered all available options and now it’s up to the players in the squad to show they can stay here.

Your Question: We can expect the All Blacks and Australia to play an expansive game, and they clearly have exceptional backline players to accomodate this. What is your thinking in terms of how the Springboks will counter this – do we take them on at their own game or do we go for a more traditional approach? – Gareth Brown

Heyneke answers: Gareth, I think we’ll have to wait and see. The All Blacks were certainly not the most expansive side at the World Cup last year, in fact, they kicked more than any other team. We will go for the approach that will help us win Tests. But we’re only focused on playing England at the moment.

Your Question: WITH ANDRIES BEKKER INJURED, WILL YOU BE LOOKING TO REPLACE HIM WITH A SPECIALIST LINEOUT JUMPER (E.G. JUANDRE KRUGER) OR THE BEST PLAYER (E.G.FLIP VAN DER MERWE)? – Michael

Heyneke answers: Hi Michael – this question was answered yesterday when I named my team. Juandre is in the mould of Andries and Victor as line-out specialist and organiser (very important) and Eben and Flip are more like Bakkies, who do the hard work around the park. There will always be room for both kinds of locks in a team.

Your Question: Hi coach, I seriously hope you will give Joe Petersen a chance at fullback as I think Zane Kirchner and him has been far the best fullbacks this year. Also just one thing please? Please pick players on form only? No matter who the players are- if they are not performing drop them. Thank you and good luck!! – Marius

Heyneke answers: Hope you like the team we announced on Wednesday Marius, but I’m guessing you would’ve preferred Joe over Zane. We’ve gone for the best players that we think can do the job against England and I can assure you that Joe is not out of the picture at all, but he is injured at the moment.

Your Question: Im still over the moon u got the job ! Dont u think its ridiculous that bizzy was selected to play a hapless lions team days b4 Eng series, they arnt exactly going to loose if a hungry/fit//fresh 180% Burden plays ??? U agree that our plyr mgmt should take a leaf out of the Crusaders & NZ re rotation/injury comeback etc. – Holzie

Heyneke answers: Thanks for the support Holzie, it’s nice to see I’ve still got some fans out there ;-). We don’t have any say over the way the Vodacom Super Rugby franchises utilise their players and I have faith in their coaches. We communicate with them regularly, but in the end they also have a job to do and I understand that full well, having been on the “other side” as well.

Your Question: Hello Heyneke Meyer, do you think you right to coach the bok team. And do you got a different format than the province coaches. – Desmond

Heyneke answers: I’m very excited about this opportunity to be entrusted with this big job. It’s not up to me to say whether I’m the best man for the job, but I will always do my best for the Boks. My format will be to use our traditional strengths or whatever it takes to get the Boks back to winning ways again.

(Dirk asks about what role Pat Lambie will play and if our loosehead prop will push straight. Heyneke said there will always be a place for Lambie as he is very talented, kicks well, can attack and can play in different positions in the backline. And that our props will be ready as they’ve worked hard with scrum coach Pieter de Villiers.

(Basil says Brussow has not conceded many penalties but that Oosthuizen has. Heyneke says that it’s never easy to select a side but that they are happy with the team selected to face England and that Brussow is not out of the picture at all.)

Centres Pat McCabe and Rob Horne replace Queenslanders Mike Harris and Anthony Faingaa in the midfield, while utility back Adam Ashley-Cooper takes over from Luke Morahan at fullback.

Under-pressure playmaker Berrick Barnes has been retained at five-eighth.

Uncapped Brumbies halfback Nic White has been named as a reserve and will become the 860th Wallaby if he makes his debut off the bench.

A world-class No.1, Robinson’s last Test for the Wallabies was at the end of the 2010 Spring Tour when Australia scored a record 59-16 victory over France in Paris.

Palu’s inclusion means Scott Higginbotham moves from No.8 to blind-side flanker, while back-rower Dave Dennis has kept his place in the 22 as Deans has elected against naming a specialist lock on the bench.

Saturday night’s Test in Brisbane is the first in a three-match series between the Tri-Nations champions and the Six Nations winners.

Australia beat Wales twice last season, downing them in the bronze play-off at the World Cup before scoring a 24-18 win in Cardiff in December.

Cape Town – Forwards trio Marcell Coetzee, Juandre Kruger and Eben Etzebeth will all make their Springbok debuts on Saturday after being named in the starting XV for the first Test against England in Durban. Kick-off is at 17:00.

2012-06-06 12:36

Heyneke Meyer (Gallo Images)

Coenie Oosthuizen will also earn his first cap, although he plays off the bench.

Zane Kirchner won the battle for selection at fullback ahead of Patrick Lambie, who was named on the bench.

Frans Steyn, who was based in France, but will join the Sharks next month, starts at inside centre.

It was also confirmed that Bismarck du Plessis will be the vice-captain to Jean de Villiers in South Africa’s first international since last year’s Rugby World Cup.

I was at the Springboks training session the other day, after their first squad for the year had been named, and it was interesting to get a first hand perpective on the tactics the team will take into the English Tests.

Jean De Villiers of the Springboks is brought down by Jamie Roberts of Wales. AFP PHOTO / Marty Melville

From what I could determine, it looks like kicking will play a big part in the game plan, which fits in with the type of team that new coach Heyneke Meyer has selected (Blue bulls style).

He has clearly picked a team that he knows will play the simple style that he wants to play. It’s a team rich in talent and experience, which is important as he must win in the eyes of all South Africans.

Sure, there’s been a lot of people in South Africa complaining about the squad, and the omission of flanker Heinrich Brussow in particular. And to be fair, a number of Stormers players who have been playing well haven’t been picked.

But Heyneke knows the world will be watching, and playing England at home, he knows winning is the first and foremost priority.

Yesterday, we saw the Wallabies lose (again) to Scotland.

It seems to me, the problem was that the Australian team had no combinations in the centres and at 8-9-10.

You need combinations at this level of rugby. You can’t just pick a bunch of talented individuals and expect them to do the job.

I am sure some will use the weather as an excuse but, sorry, not good enough. This is the ultimate level of rugby and there are no excuses.

In the past, the most successful teams have had great combinations in key positions: Farr-Jones/Ella, Farr-Jones/Lynagh, Hawker/O’Connor, Nonu/Smith, van der Westhuizen/Stransky, Gregan/Larkham, to name a few.

What is concerning me is the move towards creating all-round players and doing away with specialist players, which affects the team and the combinations.

Communicating and understanding each other comes through playing together consistently, which does not happen nowadays. Some would argue that Australia has not produced a successful combination at 10/12/13 since Horan and Little, some 12 years ago.

The Springboks under 20 team played against Ireland the other day.

Ireland controlled the game and the Boks combinations didn’t click into gear. They had a few opportunities to win but combinations and confidence let them down.

At one point near the death, they had a lineout four meters out from the Irish line and lost the ball and the match as a result.

You must stay composed and stick to the basics.

This is what happens when you get together as a new team, without any significant combinations in place.

Look at the Reds this season. Genia has struggled this year because, for much of it, he hasn’t had Cooper alongside of him in the backline. The more great players you have, the more pressure you put on the opposition.

But an even bigger problem in Australia is that we lack combinations in the centers, as we saw in the RWC2011.

Wouldn’t it be great to see a Horan/Little combo again? Stop the opposition and give the outside backs a chance to show how good they are.

Having watched the Springboks backline at training, you could see that it is a backline that has played together and will understand each other under pressure.

Meyer has entered his debut series with an understanding that he needs to pick combinations in key positions to be in with a show of winning.

At this level of rugby, you can’t keep chopping and changing. That’s when things fall apart.

Against England, the Springboks are playing the enemy. There is a lot of pride there. They simply have to win. And I think this squad can do it.

Check out a bbumper weekend of rugby ahead, with the All Blacks vs Ireland and Australia vs Wales. I know what I will be doing.

He conquered international rugby and has led a Super Rugby revival in Canberra, but Jake White says he’s not preparing for a code swap to the AFL despite tasting instant success with the Melbourne Demons.

Chris Dutton

June 5, 2012

Brumbies head coach Jake White sat in the box with the Melbourne Demons last weekend.

The ACT Brumbies coach is fast becoming a lucky charm after ”joining” the Demons as they broke through for their first win of the AFL season last Saturday night.

The South African World Cup winner used his time in Victoria last week to get a behind-the-scenes look at one of the oldest clubs in Australia to see how Demons mentor Mark Neeld operated.

It’s part of White’s plan to continue evolving as the Brumbies attempt to turn their early-season success into an unlikely finals berth when the Super Rugby competition resumes at the end of June.

He didn’t give an inspiration half-time speech to try to lift the struggling Demons. But White says his time at the MCG provided invaluable experience.

”I joked with them when I left and said, ‘sorry boys, I can’t come back down next week’,” White said.

”It was very interesting for me to see up there.

”They have 13 computers in the coaches’ box all going through statistics and analysis. All the development coaching staff was there and it was very professional.

”You can see how much work behind the scenes there are in terms of tactics.”

White flew to Japan yesterday for a brief stint with the NTT Communications club to see if there’s anything else he can pick up before returning to Canberra.

After the Brumbies beat the Melbourne Rebels on Friday night, White ordered his players to ”get away from rugby” to recharge before their finals bid.

But White is continuing his international and cross-code search for a competitive advantage.

Demons coach Neeld had been under the pump after failing to record a win in his debut AFL campaign. They were expected to lose again against one of the premiership favourites, Essendon.

However, they held on for a tight six-point win and emotion spilled over afterwards. White was in the changeroom when the players belted out the team song.

”To see a game like that and how they worked when it got close, was fantastic,” White said.

”It wasn’t so much about what I could take back to Canberra, it was about reaffirming certain things.

”I think what I learnt was just how much work goes in, how they get messages out and the staff you can add on match day.

”You can’t copy it, but you can use things, they’re big on stats and that was interesting.”

The Brumbies have been given a brief break before returning to training later this week.

They sit five points clear at the top of the Australian conference and their next Super Rugby game is against the Western Force in Perth on June 30.

However, White’s fringe players will get a chance to push for Super Rugby selection when the Brumbies play Wales in a mid-week clash at Canberra Stadium on June 12.

The All Blacks selectors have named a 30-man All Blacks squad featuring seven new caps for the three-test series against Ireland.

June 3, 2012 – 8:55AM

Sonny Bill Williams will be vying for a mid-field berth. Photo: Getty Images

The All Blacks selectors have named a 30-man All Blacks squad featuring seven new caps for the three-test series against Ireland.

The Chiefs’ powerful forward display this season has seen three players picked for the squad in prop Ben Tameifuna, loose forward Sam Cane and lock Brodie Retallick.

Crusaders lock Luke Romano is also a new cap in the forwards.

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The new caps in the backs are talented Highlanders halfback Aaron Smith, and the exciting Hurricanes duo of Beauden Barrett and Julian Savea.

Meanwhile, Chiefs hooker and two-Test All Black Hikawera Elliot will also come into the All Blacks squad as an injury replacement for Keven Mealamu who is recovering from a calf injury.

The squad is made up of six Highlanders, 10 Crusaders, four Hurricanes, five Chiefs and five Blues. The squad will be once again led by 31-year-old All Blacks captain Richie McCaw and vice-captain Daniel Carter and is made up of 16 forwards and 14 backs, with a combined total of 879 test caps.

All Blacks coach Steve Hansen welcomed his new caps to the All Blacks squad today and commiserated with the wider training group players who missed out.

“It’s always a proud moment for any rugby player to be named in the All Blacks, but the first time is particularly special,” Hansen said.

“We would also like to take this opportunity to say to those players who have missed out, to not give up on your dreams. Opportunities will always arise.”

“We have selected a really balanced squad of experienced players who have played with distinction over a number of tests, and a group of young players with huge potential.

“The two wider training group camps we held over the last two weeks really helped us establish the selection of the squad and lay the groundwork ahead of the first test. There’s been a real energy, professionalism and excitement coming from all the players involved.

“There are always huge external expectations on the All Blacks. But, for us, we wouldn’t want it any other way because what this does is raise our own internal expectations to an even higher level. We want to win test matches, and we want to do it by performing well.

Hansen also said he was very excited about leading a talented management team and coaching group into the series.

“I’ve really enjoyed working with Grant Fox and Ian Foster from a selection point of view and have also been very impressed with the coaching qualities of Ian (back attack), Aussie McLean (defence) and Mike Cron (forwards). They have all brought a huge amount of experience and great rugby nous into the All Blacks environment, which has been refreshing and stimulating for those of us involved.

“I want to publicly welcome and acknowledge them, as well as the rest of the All Blacks management team who have been busily preparing for the season.”

The All Blacks squad assembles in Auckland today to prepare for the first Test against Ireland next Saturday at Eden Park. The second Test is at Christchurch’s AMI Stadium (Addington) on Saturday 16 June and the third Test at Hamilton’s Waikato Stadium on Saturday 23 June. The All Blacks side to play in the first Test will be named this Thursday.

The squad is as follows: (with province and test caps. * denotes a new cap)

With the domestic Tests upon us, I thought it would be pertinent to ask, does rugby need a universal playing schedule?

Matthew Burke

June 3, 2012

Victors … Wales won the Six Nations but how much will they have in the tank?Photo: Getty Images

After the Test against Scotland on Tuesday night, Six Nations champions Wales are heading to our shores. It is great to have the champions strut their stuff here in a three-Test series, but are they going to be the team that rose to glory through the months of February and March?

The squad will still be fit, don’t worry about that. Most of the players just finished their domestic season and Leinster won the European Cup, Harlequins took out the Aviva Premiership and Ospreys were too good in the Pro 12. All the Welsh players will be battle-hardened after a long season. But will they have enough juice in the tank to roll out four more weeks?

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On the other hand, the Wallabies are battered and bruised but haven’t endured the rigours of 35 weeks of rugby. Yes, Super Rugby is physical and fast but it’s incredible how the long season wrecks your body. It’s not so much the playing of the games, even though there are restrictions on the number of games players are allowed to play each year, it’s the training workload that is the most significant factor in getting players fit for the weekend. Gone are the days of getting out the Deep Heat to loosen the hamstrings. Planning by the strength and conditioning coaches is calculated to the nth degree to determine how the players feel at that precise time. In a way now it’s up to the sports scientists to tell you that you are ready to play.

It comes down to who is going to give a little to make it work. Us or them. The European season runs from September through to the finals in May. That is a long year of rugby. I know, I have been there in the depths of winter where I was once diagnosed with hypothermia!

The Super Rugby season is a little shorter from February to early August, extended by the inbound Tests this year. What I would like to see are Tests and Club Challenges that are played around the same timeframe to make it as fair as possible. So no team is disadvantaged by fatigue or by the loss of players heading into surgery for the end-of-season joint clean-out.

Even the scheduling of the World Cup has its drawbacks. The southern hemisphere teams come off a domestic season while the northerners have to chase some international friendlies after completing a long season and then start the dreaded pre-season. There is always some kind of gap to contend with. We have to get something sorted.

So how can this be done. My friends in Britain are not going to like me, but I would ask for a shift in timeframe from the northern hemisphere to run over its summer months to coincide with the southern hemisphere season. Make the united season run in a calendar year. Start in January and finish in August for the domestic competitions. Finish with a three-way finals series between Super Rugby, the English premiership and Pro 12. Finish with crowning a Club Champion. Following those games, I’d have a full international season for the domestic Tests – rugby championships and Six Nations – finishing with the overseas tours. This would at least provide a level playing field.

The problem with the current set-up is that teams at the end of their season are just about out on their feet. Remember when England sent a ”C” team here to play the Wallabies in 1998. The result was a 76-0 shellacking. Conversely, the Wallabies’ four-week tour at the end of the year has recently had mixed results.

The benefits of the change of schedule is the competitions are aligned, the players are on an equal basis regarding fitness and fatigue and an element that I was exposed to during my time in Britain – the weather. You do learn to play a different style through winter but if you are wearing numbers 11 to 15, rug up as you don’t see much of the ball.

Rugby is a year-round game, perhaps it’s time to get everyone in sync to provide a level playing field. Until then it will always have a hint of bias.

Three players with Springbok Sevens experience have been named in the SA Barbarians teams to take on England in two mid-week matches during next month’s five match tour, the South African Rugby Union (SARU) announced on Monday.

May 28, 2012

Current Bok Sevens star, Cornal Hendricks, as well as veterans Danwel Demas and Mpho Mbiyozo, have been named by the SA Barbarians selectors in strong combinations to meet the tourists, chosen from the Absa Currie Cup First Division teams.

EP Kings’ centre Wayne Stevens will captain a SA Barbarians (South) combination to meet England in Kimberley on June 13 (kick off 15h00). JW Jonker of the Pumas will captain the northern SA Barbarians selection against England in Potchefstroom on June 19 (kick off 19h10).

All 44 players will assemble with head coach Jimmy Stonehouse – and assistant coaches Eddie Myners and Oersond Gorgonzola – in Durban on Wednesday for a preliminary three-day training camp.